Is Brown the New Green?

Urban Brownfields Make Way for Research-Oriented Mixed-Use Communities
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Nancy B. Solomon, AIA

Closest to downtown, the north district was the former site of the RJR Tobacco Company. Because it evolved according to the city's original street grid, the plan for this district appears to be the most urban of the three, with many small squares of green nestled among relatively densely spaced buildings. This once industrial area will be transformed into a mixed-use district combining lab and office facilities with retail, entertainment, and housing. In addition to new construction, several of the tobacco warehouses will be adapted to loft apartments and condos, preserving the historic character of the area.

The central district, which was once a railroad yard, will be organized into larger blocks, bigger outdoor courtyards, and a long swath of parkland running north-south. The plans call for green roofs covering the structured parking decks. This district will be the main academic research campus for WFU School of Medicine.


At the former site of the RJR Tobacco Company, now the north district of the Piedmont Triad Research Park, this former coal-burning plant is slated to become an entertainment and retail complex.

Photo © Lou Davis

 

The south district was home to a 1970s- era concrete plant, a vending company, and several dilapidated warehouses. Here, future buildings will be set even further apart and separated by surface parking. The park that is to begin in the central district will continue into this area. The south district is expected to offer office and R&D space to Winston-Salem State University and other local educational institutions.

Since June 2005, PTRP has been working to achieve brownfield designation through the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. A designated site is eligible for various cleanup, preservation, and development tax credits in addition to minimizing liability issues due to environmental degradation caused by previous owners.

Because the area was so large and had so many environmental issues to be documented, the state asked that PTRP split the property up to make it more manageable for moving through the designation process-hence the three separate districts. PTRP is in the final stages of having the north district approved, and is beginning the process for the other two.

Drummond stresses that, when redeveloping a brownfield site, a massive amount of work must be done before building can begin.  Demolition and remediation began in 2003. Cleanup tasks have ranged from recycling tons of building materials and removing multiple underground petroleum storage tanks, to building a new concrete plant with the highest environmental standards several miles away in exchange for displacing the older, more polluting facility that had been operating on the downtown property.

 

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Originally published in GreenSource
Originally published in November 2009

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