New in 2023, the Piedmont Triangle RLF Coalition Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund empowers communities in a 23-county area in North Carolina and Virginia to safely clean up and sustainably reuse brownfield sites. Funded with $1 million in grant funds from the EPA, loans and sub-grants are available to help communities overcome the environmental, legal, and fiscal challenges associated with cleaning up contaminated brownfield properties.
Environmental assessment can identify what is standing in the way of redeveloping a property. Cleanup is often the next hurdle.
The Piedmont Triangle Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund helps eligible projects address that hurdle through loans and subgrants for brownfield cleanup. The program was established with EPA funding and serves communities across a 23-county coalition area in North Carolina and Virginia.
The fund is designed for projects where environmental cleanup can help return a property to productive use and create wider community benefit.
Is Your Project a Fit?
Eligibility depends on the property, the applicant and where the project is located. A conversation with program staff is the best starting point, but the following requirements can help you understand whether the fund may be relevant.
What Properties May Be Eligible?
What Properties May Be Eligible?
A brownfield is generally a property where expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.
That can include former industrial properties, mills and factories, but it can also include other commercial properties where environmental conditions have created uncertainty.
Projects must meet EPA brownfields requirements in addition to being located within the coalition service area.
Who Can Apply?
Who Can Apply?
Potential loan borrowers can include businesses, developers, nonprofit organizations and public or quasi-public entities.
Subgrants are more limited. The recipient generally must be a nonprofit or public entity and the sole owner of the property receiving the grant. Applicants that may be legally responsible for the contamination, or that are ineligible to receive federal funding, cannot participate.
The strongest projects usually begin with a clear understanding of the property before financing is discussed.
Central Pines and its coalition partners can help determine whether the property meets brownfields requirements, whether the applicant is eligible, what environmental work has already been completed and whether the Revolving Loan Fund is the right source for the next stage of cleanup.
Where Can Projects Be Located?
Where Can Projects Be Located?
The fund serves communities within three regional organizations:
Piedmont Triad Regional Council
Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Montgomery, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties.
Central Pines Regional Council
Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange and Wake counties.
West Piedmont Planning District
Franklin, Henry, Patrick and Pittsylvania counties in Virginia, including Danville and Martinsville.
Learn More about Loans & Subgrants
Learn More about Loans & Subgrants
The Revolving Loan Fund can support eligible cleanup through two forms of assistance.
| Loans | Subgrants |
|---|---|
| Available to a broader range of eligible public, nonprofit and private borrowers. | Intended for eligible public and nonprofit property owners. |
| Terms are established for the individual project based on financing needs and risk. | Funding is provided through a grant agreement with federal reporting and recordkeeping requirements. |
| Repaid funds help replenish the program for future cleanup projects. | Designed to help eligible projects where grant support can unlock significant public benefit. |
Available funding, interest rates and financing terms can change as projects enter and exit the revolving fund. Rather than hard-coding those figures into evergreen content, Central Pines should provide the current terms during project consultation. The existing program also requires local participation in cleanup costs, with waiver provisions available in certain circumstances.
Not Sure Whether You Need Assessment or Cleanup Funding?
Start with the property. Central Pines can help determine where the project sits in the brownfields process and connect you with the appropriate program.
