21015_Five Points_Decision Memo_2020.04.01

DECISION MEMORANDUM
DATE: March 23, 2020 FROM: DWM, Brownfields Program, Cody Cannon/Carolyn Minnich TO: Brownfields Assessment File RE: Five Points Gateway 320 and 322 E. Franklin Street Monroe, Union County BF # 21015-17-090 Based on the following information, it has been determined that the above referenced site, whose
intended use is for no uses other than office, retail, hotel, governmental, institutional, parking, open space and with prior DEQ written approval, other commercial uses, can be made suitable for these uses.
Introduction: The Brownfields Property is comprised of two parcels totaling approximately 1.8 acres. A single-
story multi-unit commercial building totaling approximately 7,000 square-feet formerly located on the eastern parcel (322 E. Franklin Street), and a single story commercial building totaling approximately 12,000 square-feet formerly located on the western parcel (320 E. Franklin Street), were demolished by the Prospective Developer (City of Monroe) in May 2019. The Brownfields Property is bordered to the north by E. Franklin Street followed by several commercial businesses including Awards Unlimited, Hair Station Beauty Salon, and Perfection Car Care; to the south by the future Monroe Science Center (currently under construction); to the east by a parking lot followed by N Church Street, the Monroe Police Department and a restaurant called Franklin Court Grille; and to the west by an undeveloped parcel followed by several single-family residential parcels. Redevelopment Plans: The prospective developer (PD), the City of Monroe, intends to redevelop the property for no
other uses than for office, retail, hotel, governmental, institutional, parking, open space, and with prior written DEQ approval, other commercial uses.
Site History: The western parcel located at 320 E. Franklin Street was developed by at least 1908 with
residences and remained residential into the 1930s. By 1947, according to Sanborn map for the parcel, residential structures were removed and replaced with a large commercial structure used for auto sales and a smaller structure used for auto repair which included gasoline underground storage tanks (USTs). The large commercial structure had been expanded by 1959 and the smaller structure and gas tanks had been removed. The subject site has remained a commercial property since 1959. According to a review of city directories, the following commercial business operated at 320 E. Franklin Street:
• 1992 – Don Moore Textiles
• 1995 – Majestic Textile Brokers
• 2008 – Thompson Textiles; Downtown Discount
The Brownfields Property has been vacant since 2016 and the former commercial buildings were demolished by the Prospective Developer in May 2019.
The eastern parcel located at 322 E. Franklin Street was developed by at least 1908 with residences and remained residential until at least 1959 according to a review of Sanborn maps and aerial photographs. By 1964 all of the residential buildings were demolished and a commercial building was located along the eastern edge of the property boundary by 1969. Several commercial businesses have operated out of five units located within the former commercial building referenced as 322, 324, 326, 328, and 330 E. Franklin Street. According to a review of city directories, the following business have utilized the property:
• 322 E Franklin St.: o 1992: Ellis Taxi
o 1999 – 2003: AAA Taxi; Anthony Belk Painting
• 324 E Franklin St.:
o 1995 – Paramount o 1999 – Ella’s Place; Herring and Yow Heating and Cooling
• 326 E. Franklin St.: o 1992: Friendly Barber Shop; Roger’s Barber Shop o 1995 – 2013: Friendly Barber Shop
• 328 E. Franklin St.: o 1992 – 2003: Cliney’s Hair Styling
• 330 E. Franklin St.: o 1995: Gethsemane Church of God
o 1999 – 2013: Jerry’s Hair Styling The former commercial building was demolished by the Prospective Developer in May 2019.
Environmental Site Assessment History:
A Phase II Environmental Site Assessment report was completed by Resolve Environmental Services, PLLC (Resolve) on November 18, 2016. Five monitoring wells were installed across the Brownfields Property. Three of the wells were installed on the western parcel (320 E. Franklin Street) at the following locations: in the vicinity of the former gasoline storage tanks (TMW-1) in the northwest portion of the parcel, in the vicinity of the former auto repair shop (TMW-2) in the southwest proportion of the parcel, and on the east side of the former building (TMW-3) in the northeast portion of the parcel. Groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) metals. Several petroleum related VOCs and metals were detected above the North Carolina Administrative Code Title 15A Subchapter 2L groundwater standards (2L; July 2013). Several constituents also exceeded the DEQ Non-
Residential Vapor Intrusion Screening Level (VISL; February 2018) for groundwater including: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene, Benzene, Ethylbenzene, Naphthalene, Vinyl Chloride, Xylenes, and Mercury. Soil samples were collected from 10 feet below land surface (ft
BLS) at monitoring wells TMW-1 and TMW-2. Concentrations of Arsenic and Chromium (Total) exceeded the DEQ Commercial/Industrial Preliminary Soil Remediation Goals (PSRGs; May 2019).
Two monitoring wells were installed on the eastern parcel (322 E. Franklin Street) near the north-central (TMW-4) and south-central (TMW-5) borders of the property. Monitoring well TMW-5
was sampled for RCRA metals and contained concentrations of Arsenic, Lead, and Chromium (Total) above the 2L standards. Groundwater was not encountered at the total depth (28 ft BLS)
in TMW-4. Soil samples were collected from TMW-4 and TMW-5 at 8 ft BLS and 5 ft BLS respectively. Concentrations of Arsenic and Total Chromium exceeded the Commercial/Industrial PSRGs in both samples. Immediately prior to the demolition of the two commercial buildings in May 2019, three surficial samples (0.5 ft BLS) were collected from beneath the slabs of each building (320 and 322 E. Franklin Street). No VOCs or semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) were detected above Commercial/Industrial PSRGs. Arsenic was detected above Commercial/Industrial PSRGs in each of the six samples collected. Hexavalent Chromium analyses revealed no exceedances of Industrial/Commercial PSRGs.
As part of the November 2019 Brownfields Assessment Report submitted by Resolve, monitoring wells TMW-4 and TMW-5 were re-installed as MW-1 and MW-3 along with the installation of a new monitoring well (MW-2) in the western portion of the 322 E. Franklin Street parcel in an
attempt to delineate VOC impacts in groundwater. Several VOCs were detected but only concentrations of Benzene and 1,2-DCA exceeded the 2L standard in monitoring wells MW-1 and MW-2. No constituents were detected at concentrations exceeding Non-Residential VISLs.
Potential Receptors: Potential receptors are: construction workers, on-site workers, visitors, and trespassers. Contaminated Media: DEQ has evaluated data collected from the following media at the subject property: soil and groundwater. DEQ relies on the following data to base its conclusions regarding the subject property and its suitability for its intended reuse.
Soil
Soil samples were collected from 10 feet below land surface (ft BLS) at monitoring wells TMW-1 and TMW-2 in October 2016, and lab analysis detected concentrations of Arsenic and Chromium (Total) exceeding the DEQ Commercial/Industrial Preliminary Soil Remediation
Goals (PSRGs; May 2019). Surficial (0-0.5 ft BLS) samples were collected beneath the slabs of two former buildings in April 2019, and concentrations of Arsenic exceeding the Industrial/Commercial PSRG were detected. Hexavalent Chromium concentrations were below the Industrial/Commercial PSRG for all samples indicating that Chromium present in soils at the Brownfields Property is likely trivalent in form. During the installation of a storm sewer line on the adjacent property to the south in July 2019, suspected petroleum contaminated soils were identified. A portion of the sewer line and impacted soil were found to be located on the Brownfields Property. A stockpile of the soil on the Brownfields Property was sampled in August 2019 revealing no VOCs or SVOCs exceeding Industrial/Commercial PSRGs. The stockpiled soil was subsequently placed on the Brownfields Property, and its location will be demarcatedd on the Brownfields plat.
Groundwater
Several petroleum VOCs were identified above the 2L standard, but no constituents were detected at concentrations exceeding Non-Residential VISLs in three monitoring wells installed on the
eastern parcel (320 E. Franklin St.) in October 2016. Benzene and 1,2-DCA were detected above the 2L standard in two of the three monitoring wells installed on the western parcel (322 E. Franklin St.) in August 2019. However, no exceedances of the Non-Residential VISLs were observed on the western parcel.
Risk Calculations Risk Calculations were performed using the DEQ Risk Calculator (May 2019). The risk from soil was evaluated on a site-wide basis to evaluate a worst case scenario. Due to the significant difference in groundwater contamination between the eastern and western parcels, a risk
calculation was performed for a site-wide worst case scenario encompassing the samples from the eastern parcel and a risk calculation was also performed for solely those samples collected from the western parcel. The risk calculations indicated the following based on available data,
including groundwater and soil samples:
Medium Site Area
Non-Residential Worker
LICR HI
Groundwater Exposure Entire Site 5.4E-03 120
Groundwater to Indoor Air 4.9E-04 15
Groundwater Exposure Eastern Parcel (322 E. Franklin St.)
2.2E-05 3.4E-01
Groundwater to Indoor Air 2.2E-06 4.2E-02
Soil Exposure Entire Site 6.2E-06 5.0E-02

Medium Site Area
Construction Worker
LICR HI
Soil Exposure Entire Site 1.3E-06 4.9E-01

Medium Site Area
Trespasser
LICR HI
Soil Exposure Entire Site 1.7E-05 3.0E-01
LICR = Lifetime Incremental Cancer Risk HI = Hazard Index Risk calculations resulted in exceedances of the carcinogenic (LICR) and the non-carcinogenic (HI) risk thresholds for groundwater exposure and the groundwater to indoor air pathway when
groundwater from entire property is considered. However, no exceedances were observed for the groundwater data solely from the eastern parcel. Additionally, no exceedances were observed for the soil within the entire property. As a result, the following restrictions are in place regarding
soil and groundwater exposure and use at the Brownfields Property. Required Land Use Restrictions:
Based on the site-specific data provided to the Brownfield program, the site is suitable for the intended reuses as long as the agreed upon land use restrictions in the BFA are abided by.
1. No uses other than for office, retail, hotel, governmental, institutional, parking, open space, and with prior written DEQ approval, other commercial uses
2. No use for child care centers, adult care centers, or schools without prior written DEQ approval. 3. No groundwater use 4. Standard Vapor Intrusion Language for entire site. LUR compliance letter to be issued for the eastern parcel (east of monitoring well MW-2). Future potential VI investigation for the western parcel needs to include assessment for Mercury in addition to VOCs due to groundwater exceedance. 4. No disturbance of soil beyond 0-2 ft below land surface without prior written DEQ approval. 5. Soil Import/Export Requires DEQ approval. 6. Development may not occur until an approved EMP. 7. DEQ access to Brownfields Property for environmental assessment.
8. NBP reference in deed. 9. No contaminants of concern on property except for de minimis amounts, fluid in vehicles, and fuels for generators/equipment.
10. LURU submission January 1st