Site of contaminated land in Houston's Second Ward to be transformed into public park

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Neighbors living in Houston's Second Ward could soon see 4.56 acres of contaminated land cleaned up and turned into a park.

The Velasco incinerator site used to be where people would come and burn their trash, but it has sat empty for decades.

Alan Atkinson calls himself a neighborhood activist. The developer first bought property in the area nearly three decades ago, and said he's always wanted to make the area cleaner and safer.

That's why he's supports plans to clean up and transform the site where the City of Houston used to run trash incinerators from the 1920s to 1960s. It's located on North Velasco Street along the south side of Buffalo Bayou.

"I was buying up old warehouses and tearing them down, so I could clean up the environmentals on the properties. I also started building hiking and bike trails," Atkinson said. "So, I'm thrilled about any effort to remediate the neighborhood."

By 1995, the city got rid of all the buildings on-site, leaving behind a few incinerator stacks, a concrete foundation, and a sanitary sewer lift station. Officials said there's still about 35 feet of ash and other contaminants that lie underneath the soil, including arsenic, lead, mercury, dioxins, and furans.

The area has been the subject of community concern for decades, dating back to Dr. Robert Bullard's research from 1979, which found that 100% of city-owned landfills and 75% of city-owned incinerators were in neighborhoods of color.

On Wednesday, city council voted to transfer ownership to the Houston Land Bank, a government-affiliated nonprofit that works with vacant, abandoned, dilapidated, and contaminated sites. They will now take the lead on the process of building a future park.

"I do know that there's a lot of people who have wanted to see change for this for decades. We're really seeking to address that change, to invite the community to the process and tell us what change looks like, and then work together in order to revitalize this from a blight to an asset," Christa Stoneham, CEO and president of Houston Land Bank, said.

Stoneham said they will be applying for an EPA grant in November to get the needed funding. Now, the City of Houston estimates the cost for clean-up to be around $5 to $7 million to cover expenses such as a protective covering or barrier on contaminated soil, waste to prevent the spread of pollutants, and reduce exposure to harmful substances.

"We will work closely with the EPA and TCEQ, in addition to our environmental consultants to ensure that it's safe. We absolutely would not initiate anything that has not been tested and approved, in order to make sure that we are doing our due diligence in restoring this site," Stoneham said.

The City of Houston tried to secure a development partner for the property in the past to help with the complexity and cost of environmental clean-ups, but has been unsuccessful. As a result, the site has remained abandoned and vacant since operations ceased back in the 1960s.

Officials noted that incinerator waste is not structurally sound enough to support any building structures for housing or commercial use, which restricts development financing options and limits opportunities for a return on investments made to the property.

Atkinson said he's cautiously optimistic, because he knows it will take a while to complete the project. Officials said it could take up to four years or longer.

"Our experience over the last few years has not been particularly favorable. So yes, we'll be watching. But we want them to be successful. We want them to be transparent and honest," Atkinson said.

The Houston Land Bank is seeking the public's input on this project. They're holding a public meeting on Thursday, Oct. 26 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the HCC Felix Fraga Academic Campus.

For more information or to access frequently asked questions, visit Banking Velasco's website.

For more on this story, follow Rosie Nguyen on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.