Paving the Way for a Sustainable Future

Revitalising a Former Industrial Site
A new parking lot in Lawrence is the sign of a promising future. While expanses of pavement may not be applauded by many communities, this one symbolises a gateway to revitalisation. This former industrial site thrived in the mid-1800s with massive mills and manufacturing facilities. Today, through a unique public/private partnership, this brownfields remediation project is a critical piece of a citywide redevelopment plan that will return this and other properties to beneficial reuse, including a much-heralded landscaped parking facility.

Closed in the early 1980s, the site once supported 26 inter­con­nected buildings—comprising more than 56,000 m² of space—and an extensive subsurface infra­struc­ture network that became cont­a­m­i­nated from manu­fac­tur­ing processes. With the visionary leadership of the property owner, GenCorp Inc, head­quar­tered in Sacramento, California, we supported a partnership of committed stake­hold­ers—including the city of Lawrence and numerous state and local agencies and organ­i­sa­tions, supported by the mayor and members of Congress—we mapped out a safe and efficient restoration programme. A cast of engineers, scientists, field technicians, hydro­ge­ol­o­gists, landscape architects, and construc­tors created carefully sequenced remediation approaches for the site’s intricate infra­struc­ture, modelled groundwater plumes through complicated glacial geology, and designed functional reuse landscape that blends with the surrounding environment.

Serving as designers and remedial engineers, as well as designer-builders for some phases, we have helped to abate asbestos and demolish contaminated buildings, remove more than 60,000 t of contaminated debris and soil, develop an innovative groundwater remediation approach that reuses the site’s historic subsurface hydropower raceways, and design the landscaped parking facilities. Thanks to strong collaboration, the remnants from 150 years of industrial activity are being addressed to protect, enhance and revitalise the surrounding community.