EPA completes demo, remediation of former New York factory

The cleanup of asbestos contamination at the Charlestown Mall, located on the border of Utica and Frankfort, New York, has been completed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the agency, nearly 30,000 tons of debris from the site were removed as part of the cleanup.

“This area is now an opportunity for redevelopment. This site was a contaminated eyesore, but through EPA’s Superfund Program, we are turning blight into might, protecting people’s health and safeguarding the environment,” says EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia in a Dec. 14 press release. “Over the coming months, EPA will engage with local elected officials and regional economic development leaders to open up discussions about potential future uses at this site.”

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In August 2020, a massive fire destroyed more than 500,000 square feet of the former manufacturing and retail space. EPA began the site cleanup in June 2022 by tearing down the remaining structures to their foundations and removing the asbestos-containing waste. Now that site cleanup activities are completed, EPA says its Superfund Redevelopment Program will provide ongoing reuse support services to the community to transform the site from a “liability into an asset supporting economic development.”

The Superfund Redevelopment Program works with local communities to help repurpose cleaned-up sites. The program provides site owners and prospective buyers with direct support, such as technical assistance and redevelopment planning services, as well as tools and resources to help communities explore reuse choices.

For a fact sheet that contains further information and specifics, including cleanup history, property ownership status, present site characteristics and prospects for site reuse, visit here.