Top right: The former Knox Laundry site at 57 N. Kellogg St./332 E. Ferris St.
Bottom right: The former Tucker’s Printing Company at 175, 179, and 193 N. Cherry St.
Galesburg has received approximately $1.2 million in brownfields grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, a significant boost for cleaning up contaminated sites and spurring economic development, city officials say.
Announced last Friday, the funding includes a $500,000 Assessment Grant and a $713,600 Cleanup Grant, as confirmed by Steve Gugliotta, Galesburg’s Director of Community Development. The grants will support environmental remediation and planning for key sites, including the former Knox Laundry, Broadview Hotel, and Tucker’s Printing Company properties.
Gugliotta tells WGIL, “We appreciate the US EPA selection for these grants which can provide a number of benefits to our community.”
Cleanup focus: Knox Laundry site
The Cleanup Grant will target the former Knox Laundry site at 57 N. Kellogg St./332 E. Ferris St., a property used as a retail laundry since 1898 and later a multi-story drycleaning plant until the mid-1990s. Deemed unsafe, the city demolished the facility in 2006-07 via court order. Previous state brownfield funding supported extensive assessments, confirming contamination above soil saturation limits.
The EPA funds will treat impacted soils and install an engineered barrier, such as pavement, to limit exposure risks, paving the way for safe redevelopment.
“Terminating operations and removing structures stopped potential ongoing contamination,” Gugliotta noted, emphasizing the grant’s role in cleaning up the site’s long-standing soil contamination.
Assessing additional brownfield sites
The Assessment Grant will fund site assessments, cleanup plans, and reuse strategies for other brownfield sites, starting with the former Broadview Hotel at 29 Public Square and Tucker’s Printing Company at 175, 179, and 193 N. Cherry St. The Broadview Hotel site, with a history of hotels since 1869 and a filling station in 1927, was demolished in April 2023 due to safety violations. Tucker’s Printing Company, razed in 2024 after a second major fire, raises environmental concerns due to its historical use. These assessments will clarify the extent of hazardous materials, enabling safe redevelopment. If funds remain, the city will consult a 2023 Brownfields Inventory by Kansas State University and Terracan to identify additional priority sites.
Economic and environmental benefits
Gugliotta highlighted the grants’ broader benefits, noting that the cleanup efforts will improve environmental health by removing or containing contaminants, while attracting developers to transform vacant lots into productive spaces.
“These grants can facilitate new construction and job creation,” he said, aligning with Galesburg’s redevelopment goals outlined in a June 2024 WGIL report. The EPA’s Region 5 office will assign a Project Officer to guide the city through the application process and provide technical support throughout the project, though a definitive timeline is pending.
The awards are part of a $114 million EPA initiative to clean up Illinois brownfields, funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as announced on the EPA’s website. Galesburg’s selection underscores its commitment to addressing environmental challenges and fostering economic revitalization in historically underutilized areas.
