Latest news with #communityrevitalization
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Galesburg receives $1.2 million from EPA to address brownfields
GALESBURG, Ill. (WMBD) — A federal agency has awarded the city of Galesburg more than $1.2 million to address environmental impacts. The money comes from the Environmental Protection Agency in the form of two grants, the Assessment Grant worth $500,000 and the Cleanup Grant worth more than $713,000, Steve Gugliotta, the city's director of community development, said. 'These funds will help address the environmental impacts of historically contaminated properties, paving the way for community revitalization and economic development. The city has been notified of the awards and is now working to submit all required documentation,' he said. The two grants will be used for a few different projects, with the bulk of the cleanup grant going to remediate the old Knox Laundry site, he said. The facility, which used to sit at 57 North Kellogg Street and 332 East Ferris Street, opened in 1898 as a retail laundry store which was expanded into a multi-story dry-cleaning facility, he said. Between 2006 and 2007, the court ordered the demolition of the building after it had been vacated and condemned because of its deteriorating condition. 'Terminating the business operations and removing former structures has stopped the potential for any continuing releases of contamination into our environment,' he said. 'But until the site is fully remediated, the potential for redevelopment is very limited.' The money will help the city address remaining contamination, more specifically areas where soil has been 'impacted above saturation limits,' Gugliotta said. The Assessment Grant will be used to evaluate two different sites that have been labeled as a brownfield. 'A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant,' the EPA's website said. The first of these two brownfields is the former Broadview Hotel located at 29 Public Square, which throughout its time was home to many businesses, including a filling station which dates back to 1927, he said. The second was the former Tucker's Printing Company, located on North Cherry Street, which was recently demolished after it had a second fire in 2024, he said. The site has housed industrial buildings in the past that Gugliotta says have led to environmental concerns. With any money from these grants, they may have left over sites that will be selected by a Brownfields Inventory, which was put together in 2023 by Kansas State University's Technical Assistance to Brownfield program, as well as consultants at Terracon, he said. He said they are anticipating the project to run from Oct. 1, 2025, until Sept. 30, 2029, although that is just an estimate, and the projects may not take that much time. 'We are honored by the EPA's selection and grateful for their support in helping us turn theseunderutilized properties into assets for the community,' Gugliotta said. 'These grants will help improve environmental safety, promote redevelopment, and attract future investment to our city.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
City of Galesburg earns $1 million-plus in EPA grants
The City of Galesburg has announced it has been selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to receive two Brownfield Grants totaling $1,213,600, according to a news release. The awards include a $500,000 Assessment Grant and a $713,600 Cleanup Grant through the EPA Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization. These funds will help address the environmental impacts of historically contaminated properties, paving the way for community revitalization and economic development. The city has been notified of the awards and is now working to submit all required documentation. It is anticipated that the project period for both grants will be Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2029, although the entire time frame may not be required for project completion. Cleanup Grant: Remediation of the Former Knox Laundry Site The $713,600 Cleanup Grant will support environmental remediation efforts at the former Knox Laundry site, located at the property previously known as 57 N. Kellogg St./332 E. Ferris St. Operated as a retail laundry since 1898 and later expanded into a multi-story dry-cleaning facility, the property was vacated and condemned due to its deteriorated condition and ultimately demolished by court order in 2006–2007. Terminating the business operations and removing former structures has stopped the potential for any continuing releases of contamination into our environment, but until the site is fully remediated, the potential for redevelopment is very limited. The city plans to use grant funds to address remaining contamination, specifically targeting soils impacted above saturation limits. The project will include treatment of affected areas and installation of an engineered barrier, such as pavement, to safely limit potential exposure and prepare the site for future redevelopment. Assessment Grant: Evaluating Brownfield Sites for Redevelopment The $500,000 Assessment Grant will be used to evaluate and plan for the safe reuse of properties with suspected contamination. Key sites identified for initial assessment include: Former Broadview Hotel (29 Public Square): Demolished by court order because of safety violations, this property hosted various businesses, including a filling station dating back to 1927. Former Tucker's Printing Company (175, 179, 193 N. Cherry St.): Recently demolished in 2024 after a second major fire, the site has a long industrial history that raises environmental concerns. Pending available funding, additional priority sites will be selected from a Brownfields Inventory developed in 2023 by Kansas State University's Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) program and environmental consultants at Terracon. A Step Toward a Safer, Stronger Community 'We are honored by the EPA's selection and grateful for their support in helping us turn these underutilized properties into assets for the community,' said Steve Gugliotta, director of community development. 'These grants will help improve environmental safety, promote redevelopment, and attract future investment to our city.' In addition to funding, the city will benefit from ongoing EPA technical assistance throughout the project period. The Assessment Grant will support efforts to identify and evaluate hazardous materials, while the Cleanup Grant will directly support the mitigation of contaminants and site improvements—ultimately fostering new development opportunities and enhancing public health. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How ESMT Berlin Students Are Revitalizing Germany's Poorest City With Business Innovation
Yifei Chen, a Class of 2025 Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship student at ESMT Berlin, poses inside St. Joseph's church in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, with neighborhood locals. Her Corporate Innovation Project involved revitalizing the shuttered church into a vibrant community center. Courtesy photo It was the silence that most struck Yifei Chen on her first visit to Schalke, the poorest district in Gelsenkirchen which is, in turn, one of the poorest cities in Germany. It's a neighborhood defined by contrasts. While Schalke is home to one of Germany's largest and most popular football clubs – the Schalke 04 – signs for the club were old and faded. While Gelsenkirchen was once considered the most important coal mining town in Europe, it now has the highest unemployment rate in Germany. 'The city felt quiet and even a bit abandoned, like the energy that once existed had slowly disappeared,' said Chen, a student at . 'That moment made us realize this wasn't just about giving a space a new function, it was about finding a meaningful way to bring life and pride back into the area.' Chen's visit to Schalke wasn't for sight seeing. It was for her , a core part of her business degree from ESMT. She and her teammates were tasked with bringing life back into a community many had written off. Every student in EMST's Master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship is required to complete a CIP, a three-month project where small teams work on innovation challenges with real corporate or civic partners. Students complete their own fieldwork and research. They are expected to deeply engage with partners and stakeholders to deliver an actionable solution. Baris Efe, head of Vali Berlin, ESMT's entrepreneurship hub 'It's not just a case study; it's a real project with real implications for organizations and people,' says Baris Efe, head of, ESMT's entrepreneurship hub that runs the CIP program. Vali's mission is to train students to apply entrepreneurial lessons to solve real-world problems, whether that be through a startup or with an existing organization. Chen and her teammates – Luciano Coppolino and Gaetano Adamo – were assigned the CIP in Gelsenkirchen, working directly with the Stiftung Schalker Markt community foundation to revitalize the shuttered St. Joseph's church. The challenge: Turn this symbol of the past – the historical and emotional heart of the neighborhood – into a catalyst for the future. 'Schalke and Gelsenkirchen represent a part of Germany that has experienced industrial decline but still holds deep social and cultural capital. It's a place that matters to its residents, to the history of German industry, and to the broader question of how we revitalize forgotten places,' Efe says. 'It offered students the opportunity to explore innovation not in the context of start-ups or technology, but in the context of bringing society back together and renewing it as a community. That's what made the project so special, even for us.' St. Joseph's Church in Schalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Courtesy photo Chen and her teammates spent months pouring through extensive fieldwork and interviews compiled by the Stiftung Schalker Markt, highlighting the community's hopes and expectations for the site. The team also visited the district multiple times to engage with the community while developing the sense of place. 'Everything we proposed was built around Schalke's identity, especially its mining heritage and football roots. We didn't want innovation to replace the past, but rather to build on it,' Chen says. 'Our real goal was to celebrate the uniqueness and irreplaceable character of Schalke.' Their solution was a B2B-oriented model that focused on event-based revenue: hosting corporate gatherings, e-gaming tournaments, and creating co-working space. Inspiration came from similar repurposed heritage sites like and . 'We believed that by introducing activities like e-gaming or co-working, we could bring younger audiences and new businesses into the area, creating a space that felt both relevant and respectful,' says Chen. This careful balance between modern use and cultural integrity was the point. And it was precisely what the CIP is designed to teach, Efe says. 'It's not just about solving a problem, it's about understanding people, context, and constraints. In Schalke, the students were not only consultants but also collaborators and co-creators.' Efe describes walking through Schalke like flipping between two timelines. There's the abandoned buildings, shuttered businesses, and the signs of long-term disinvestment on one timeline. Pride on the other – in the football club, in the pubs, in the conversations at the local bakery. The tension between loss and resilience challenges one to think about economic regeneration alongside identity and belonging. Yifei Chen, Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Class of 2025 'One major challenge was understanding the real level of engagement from residents, especially younger people,' Chen says. 'Many of them don't stay in Gelsenkirchen anymore, so figuring out how to bring them back and how to make the space relevant and active in the long term was difficult.' They also had to flip the story: Present Schalke not as a place in decline, but as a place of potential. Their plan focused less on polished visuals and more on authentic storytelling. Chen and her ESMT teammates submitted their plan in December. Since then, the concept has sparked interest among potential funders, and local leaders have started discussing implementation steps. Now, locals can begin raising money to make St. Joseph's the community hub she and her teammates pitched. 'We did our best to provide a concept that was both meaningful and practical. I truly hope the space will be used for more community events and innovative projects, where people can reconnect and celebrate their culture. If it attracts new visitors and brings economic activity into the area, that would be even better,' says Chen. 'Most importantly, I hope locals can feel proud of where they come from again.' For Chen, the project has changed her view of what business tools can do. While she and her teammates used several tools from their classes – customer research methods, storytelling, and design thinking, for example – business education isn't just about numbers or frameworks. It's about learning how to understand people and build something that makes a difference. 'Collaboration is everything. You can't do meaningful work on your own,' she says. 'Listening, adapting, and being humble are just as important as having a good idea.' Efe sees Schalke as a model for the future of business education. 'The most urgent problems of our time are social, environmental, and structural,' he says. 'Projects like this show that business students, when challenged and supported, can become architects of renewal, not just analysts of growth.' A collection of old newspaper articles and church papers helped the students captures St. Joseph's sense of history and place within the neighborhood. Courtesy photo Of course, real success of CIP projects in general and Schalke's church in particular, isn't measured in a polished deliverable. It's measured in what happens next, in two, five, ten years down the line. Efe hopes to check in on St. Joseph's in the future to find a vibrant, community hub for culture, learning, and entrepreneurship. A space for people to come together and tell a new story about the neighborhood. And, he hopes to find more bold, socially embedded projects like this one for more CIP teams. ESMT's Vali Center operates under the ethos that innovation can and should serve society, not just markets, he says. It trains students to navigate ambiguity, build trust, and see complexity not as a roadblock, but as a signal that their work is meaningful. 'We want our students to go into the world not just with credentials, but with conviction,' he says. 'Innovation is too important to be left only to corporations and startups. Projects like this show that when you give young, motivated people the chance to engage deeply with real-world problems, incredible things can happen. This isn't just a learning experience, it's a contribution to our economy and society.' DON'T MISS: POETS&QUANTS' WORLD'S BEST 40-UNDER-40 MBA PROFESSORS OF 2025 AND MANY EXPECT THE COURTS TO OVERTURN TRUMP'S BAN ON INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AT HARVARD The post How ESMT Berlin Students Are Revitalizing Germany's Poorest City With Business Innovation appeared first on Poets&Quants.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prince George's municipalities form coalition with eye to securing share of Blue Line development
Commuters walk to catch a Blue Line train May 15 at the Addison Road-Seat Pleasant Metrorail station. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) They share a Metro line, they share a ZIP code and they share a dream of revitalized older communities. And, come Saturday, the Prince George's County towns of Capitol Heights and Fairmount Heights and the city of Seat Pleasant will have something else in common. They will all be members of the new 20743 Coalition. The mayors of those three inside-the-Beltway municipalities will meet Saturday to launch the coalition, named for the ZIP code they have in common. Their goal is to ensure that their often-overlooked communities share in the Blue Line corridor redevelopment projects that are scheduled in coming years as part of an effort to redevelop central Prince George's County. Saturday's signing ceremony is meant as a show of unity for the communities clustered along Metro's Blue Line and the county's Central Avenue. All three mayors already signed a memorandum of understanding in March for each municipality to share resources 'that promote economic development, enhance public services, and improve residents' quality of life.' The Maryland Stadium Authority is slated tom invest $400 million toward five projects planned for areas near Largo Town Center, Morgan Boulevard, Addison/Seat Pleasant and Capitol Heights Metro stations. The first will be a civic plaza by the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building in Largo, scheduled for completion in December. One official who plans to be in attendance at the Fairmount Heights Municipal Building for Saturday's event will be At-Large County Councilmember Jolene Ivey (D). 'I think it's really important that we're all on one accord when it comes to using this as an opportunity for economic development and to really push getting good things happening in that part of the county,' she said in an interview Wednesday. 'We all have to kind of agree on what that looks like.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Officials and residents from the three municipalities located inside the Beltway have said for years there has been a lack of economic development, especially when it comes to healthy food choices. A food desert was created in July 2016, when a Safeway closed at Addison Plaza in Seat Pleasant on Central Avenue, less than a mile from the Washington, D.C., border. Since that time, there's been no major food retailer on that road for the almost four miles between the D.C. border and the Capital Beltway in Capitol Heights. A small full-service grocer called Good Food Markets and Café opened in Addison Plaza in September 202. Because of financial challenges, however, only the café remained open. a year later. The business has since closed. To help fill some of the void, The Capital Market has hosted farmers markets and various workshops in all three municipalities. Because of the nonprofit organization's relationship with officials and residents, it will serve as a facilitator to the coalition. According to the agreement, Capital Market will also 'provide quarterly financial reports to all Parties (municipalities) detailing the use of funds and progress on initiative to each municipality.' 'These are three majority African American municipalities … [with] a lot of shared history and culture,' said Kyle Reeder, interim administrative director with Capital Market and a sixth-generation Prince Georgian, who lives in Capitol Heights. 'I'm excited to see what the municipalities are able to do together.' So is Belinda Queen, a community activist who also lives in Capitol Heights. But at a community meeting Wednesday night, Queen urged state lawmakers from legislative District 25, which includes the neighborhood of Walker Mill in an unincorporated part of Capitol Heights, to make sure economic development does happen. 'The Blue Line corridor is supposed to be for all of us going through Capitol Heights,' she said. 'So I need you guys to stay on this.'
