St. Ann Center: Announces public hearing on Brownfield cleanup

Contact: John Jansen
(414) 977-5031; jjansen@stanncenter.org

St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, from 4 – 6 p.m. to solicit comments from the public and provide information on a proposed brownfield cleanup effort at its Bucyrus Campus, 2450 W. North Ave. The meeting gives residents a chance to voice concerns and learn about any possible health risks involved, cleanup methods, and the progress and status of remediation efforts.

St. Ann Center was able to buy the two-block parcel of land from the city in 2014 for $1 because it was contaminated with petroleum and lead-based pollutants from years earlier; hundreds of Milwaukee homes were bulldozed in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for the Park East Freeway. The freeway was never built, but the pollutants were never removed from the soil.

The contaminated dirt was moved from the site to build the Bucyrus Campus in 2015 and is currently contained in covered piles behind the facility. Earlier this year, St. Ann Center applied for and received $400,000 in U.S. EPA Brownfield Cleanup grants to remove or cap the dirt piles. The work is scheduled to start in April 2017 under supervision of the federal agency.

“We are very fortunate to have received funding to remove the dirt,” said St. Ann Center President Sr. Edna Lonergan. “Neighbors who have concerns or would like to learn more about this project should attend our public hearing on January 5.”

An Information Repository containing the environmental assessments, remediation plans and several other environmental documents is available at the Bucyrus Campus, and is posted at https://stanncenter.org/about/our-bucyrus-campus/.

St. Ann Center specializes in adult and child day services within a safe, home-like intergenerational setting, where compassion, care and dignity are key.  The center brings all ages together—from 6 weeks old to over 100 years of age.

Public comments regarding the project can be submitted at the public meeting or directly to John Jansen, project manager, at  jjansen@stanncenter.org or to his attention at St. Ann Center-Stein Campus, 2801 E. Morgan Ave., Milwaukee, WI  53207.