Objective

The city of New Westminster, BC was provided with funding through the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) to help finance the remediation of a former industrial site into what is now the Westminster Pier Park. Our study showcased how funding of brownfield projects, such as this one, can provide economic benefits for communities and act as a catalyst for other municipal projects either within the same community or in other communities in Canada. Our report highlighted the impacts that the funding by GMF can have on:

• The municipal tax base (e.g., increases in the assessed value of commercial and residential properties in the vicinity of the site)
• Local economic development (e.g., increases in local, residential and commercial building activity)
• Recreational uses of remediated sites (e.g., the level of use of the public spaces on remediated sites and the associated economic value)
• Wellbeing in neighbourhoods surrounding remediated sites (e.g., the economic value of remediated sites as neighbourhood amenities)

The results of our study confirmed that the GMF can help local governments discover the benefits of remediation and redevelopment projects and showed that municipalities are key players in solving the challenges posed by brownfield sites.

Our Role

Midsummer Analytics was commissioned to develop this case study to highlight how the funding of brownfield projects by FCM's Green Municipal Fund can provide economic benefits for communities and be a catalyst for other municipal projects. To showcase this, the study focused on the resulting benefits caused by the remediation of a brownfield site in New Westminster, BC that is now Westminster Pier Park. Our study was able to conclude that the GMF helps local governments tap into the benefits of remediation and redevelopment projects and is an example for other municipalities on the benefits of brownfield remediation.