Redevelopment application submitted for key parcel on Vacuum Oil brownfield site
The owner of a contaminated property on the Vacuum Oil site has taken initial steps to initiate cleanup operations.
Through its environmental consultant, ExxonMobil has submitted an application to include 5 Flint St. in New York State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program. The program provides tax incentives to developers for remediating land where contamination from previous use would otherwise prevent development or reuse of the land.
The development potential of 5 Flint St. has languished for over 15 years, and the dilapidated, abandoned warehouse that occupies much of the property looms over the southwest Rochester neighborhood.
ExxonMobil purchased the site and the adjacent 15 Flint St. property from DHD Ventures after the developer’s lender filed for foreclosure on the property. A court previously ruled that ExxonMobil was partially responsible for remediating the site because ExxonMobil is the successor company to Vacuum Oil through various mergers and acquisitions.
An ExxonMobil spokesman said the company is working to remediate the site and is looking for parties who could develop the site and put it to a use that would benefit the community.
The cleanup program proposal includes many pages of technical data, but also sets out the cleanup approach that ExxonMobil and its environmental consultant intend to pursue.
They recommend preparing the site for commercial and residential use by removing contaminated soil, removing dense vegetation, monitoring groundwater contamination, and performing various types of work on the site.
The application also states that the warehouse is expected to be demolished next spring.
The City of Rochester owns approximately 18 lots adjacent to 5 Flint St. and plans to clear these for future development as well.
The application and supporting documents can be viewed at the Phillis Wheatley Library, 33 Dr. Samuel McCree Way, or via the DEC website.
The state Department of Environmental Protection is accepting comments on the application until October 5.
Comments may be submitted to the DEC by mail to Charlotte Theobald, the site project manager, at 6274 East Avon-Lima Road, Avon, NY, 14414. [email protected]; or call (585) 226-5354.
