DADE CITY — A plan is gaining traction to designate a former car dealership near downtown as a brownfield area in order to obtain state economic incentives to clean up the contaminated property.
The designation is part of a program administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that seeks to provide economic incentives to potential developers and investors to clean up sites that are, or may be, environmentally contaminated. Such properties include former gas stations, dry cleaners, schools or businesses that used lead, gasoline or chemicals.
During a workshop this week, the Dade City Commission approving bringing forward a resolution for a vote that would designate two lots totaling nearly 3 acres, at Seventh Street and Robinson Avenue, as a brownfield, with the hope that after cleaning up petroleum contamination there, a high-end, mixed-use development will be built on the former Pasco Motors property.
Once a government entity passes a resolution for the designation and it is approved by the state, property owners who agree to voluntarily participate could receive numerous incentives, including job-creation tax refunds, funding for cleanup and state loan guarantees to clean up properties.
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