Mobile Workshops & Walking Tours
Brownfields 2008 features numerous workshops offering experiential learning by land and by water.
Throughout the entire conference, you'll have the chance to see world class projects in Detroit, Monroe, and other Southeastern Michigan communities. Free walking tours are also scheduled.
Online registration for the mobile workshops and walking tours is now closed. You can register onsite starting Sunday, May 4th from Noon - 6:00 p.m. at the Mobile Workshop registration booth in the Registration Area.
Life on the River: The Clean-up of the Detroit River ($35/person) -- FULL
Saturday, May 3, 1:00-5:00 pm
The Detroit River has a long history of pollution problems dating back to the turn of the 19th century. Environmental pollution caused fish advisories, bird and animal deformities, and made the river nearly unusable for recreational purposes for decades. But beginning in early 2003, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy began an intense clean-up of the river. Today, wildlife thrives in the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, the only international wildlife preserve in North America, uniquely located in the heart of a major metropolitan area. During this mobile workshop, participants will learn more when they paddle by kayak along the river and see former brownfields sites now being use for recreational purposes. Kayaks and all appropriate safety equipment will be provided as well as safety lessons prior to the start of the trip. Please bring appropriate outdoor apparel as the weather in early spring can be unpredictable.
Redevelopment and Renovation of Historic Sites: The Monroe Experience ($15/person)
Sunday, May 4, 1:00-4:00 pm
The city of Monroe, the Monroe County Historical Society, and Monroe’s BRA have joined forces to develop a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 30-acre site for historic preservation, interpretation, and brownfield redevelopment. One of the bloodiest battles in the War of 1812, “The Battle of the River Raisin,” was fought on the site. This same property later housed a number of paper-manufacturing companies in the 1900’s. After being abandoned, the mill buildings required environmental responsive activities. In 2006, the River Raisin National Battlefield Study Act authorized a National Park study of the site.
To address the aging and health care needs of its members, the Immaculate Heart of Mary congregation completed a $56 million renovation of its historic Motherhouse of the Servants and most of its 280-acre campus. The renovation project employed state of the art sustainable technologies and methods including a geothermal heating and cooling system along with a graywater recycling system. The Motherhouse was named one of the top ten green projects in 2006 by the American Institute of Architects.
The Comeback Kid: Woodward Avenue in the Central Business District (Walking Tour – FREE)
Monday, May 5, 11:45 am – 1:00 pm
Downtown Detroit has triumphed the past five years with new development by reinvesting in its central business district, especially along historic Woodward Avenue. The corridor was renowned for impressive architecture like the Hudson’s department store; served as home (and final resting place) for the Dodges and Fords, early auto industry moguls; and was once the anchor of Detroit life. This tour will provide historical insight into each building passed combined with redevelopment stories of how the city resurrected the authentic and vibrant avenue. The tour includes Campus Martius, the Compuware world headquarters, the former Hudson’s site, Ford Field and Comerica Park, Merchants Row and a visit to a model loft unit, The Fox Theater, restaurants and bars, and ends at Brush Park. Come experience the complex history of the road that housed the world’s first electric traffic light and continues to illuminate the Motor City.
Reclaiming the Riverfront: Detroit East Riverfront Stroll and Cruise ($15/person) -- FULL
Monday, May 5, 1:15-3:45 p.m.
The city of Detroit is transforming its historically industrial riverfront into a sparkling and bustling metropolitan waterfront showcasing the success of a true renaissance. Connecting Lake Erie to the upper Great Lakes, the Detroit River serves as a magnificent natural resource and a gateway for international commerce. The Detroit East Riverfront Redevelopment District is located within the downtown vicinity. The District encompasses approximately 350 acres and stretches nearly three and one half miles, along the Detroit River, east of downtown Detroit. This collaborative effort involved a unique mixture of public, private, and nonprofits agencies that has and continues to contribute to this major transformation of the District.
This tour will include a stroll of the District, a boat cruise observing the District and Windsor’s Canadian Riverwalk from the river, and ending with a bus tour of developments including new housing, commercial developments, Tri-centennial State Park and Harbor, and other recreational amenities.
Ford Rouge and Fairlane Green: Sustainable Manufacturing and Recycled Real Estate ($15/person)
Tuesday, May 6, 10:00 – 1:00 pm
Participants will experience two of Ford Motor Company's sustainable brownfields redevelopment projects. The Ford Rouge Center, an icon of the twentieth century “Industrial Revolution,” is now the symbol of “Sustainable Manufacturing.” The Fairlane Green, the recipient of the 2008 Phoenix Award for EPA Region 5, is an example of successful sustainable green retail and outdoor recreation. The sites are vastly different, yet they share a common history and both serve as examples of responsible, sustainable development in that each are recipients of LEED Gold Certification. The workshop will include a stop at the Ford Rouge Visitor Center for a project overview, tour, and presentations on Ford history and sustainable manufacturing. The workshop will also feature a tour of the Fairlane Green redevelopment where participants will learn about the challenges and solutions associated with developing the 240-acre former landfill.
The Zen and the Art of Redevelopment: Detroit’s Inner-Ring Suburbs ($15/person)
Tuesday, May 6, 1:15-4:00 p.m.
Southeast Michigan’s mature inner-ring suburbs grapple with attracting private investment and converting vacant and contaminated land. Participants will experience multicultural Hamtramck through a visit to the Detroit Zen Center, an ecologically sustainable renovation project with a green roof and solar energy. Also in Hamtramck, the colorful story of a resurrected neighborhood once plagued with a discrimination lawsuit and smelter lead will captivate participants. The workshop continues up historic Woodward Avenue through Highland Park to see the new retail shops rising, thanks partially to the Wayne County Land Bank. Then it crosses the infamous 8 Mile Road into funky Ferndale, where the city has collaborated with an auto dealership on cleanup and redevelopment. Finally the workshop stops in quaint Pleasant Ridge, the small bedroom community that recently tackled the first brownfields project in its 80-year history. This trip will reveal diverse approaches to redevelopment beyond Detroit’s boundaries, rejuvenated small downtowns and many successful public-private partnerships.
Downriver: Ecorse, River Rouge, and Southwest Detroit ($15/person)
Tuesday, May 6, 1:15-4:00 p.m.
For 4,000 years, the Lower Detroit River was a paradise and the center of Native American life in the Great Lakes. But in the 1920s, it became part of Ford’s megaplex—the largest auto and steel production center in the world. Industry downsizing has left Southwest Detroit, Ecorse, and River Rouge with 10 miles of magnificent waterfront property—all brownfields—that, with Michigan’s superior brownfields financing tools, beg for redevelopment.
This tour travels past 8 miles of riverfront opportunity on its way to an 80-acre Eco-Port and waterfront recreational development site at the Ecorse/River Rouge border with another 200 acres for possible residential, commercial, and mixed use waterfront development. After stopping at the largest faith-based development in the U.S., the tour continues to Ecorse’s Southend, where 80 acres of destination waterfront development on the Detroit River has been announced. The site also has another 200 waterfront acres available.
Collaborative Success: Southwest Detroit ($15/person)
Wednesday, May 7, 9:00-11:30 a.m.
Southwest Detroit represents an international gateway into the country with multiple international border crossings and port facilities connecting the United States and Canada. With the receipt of federal and state brownfield grants, the city of Detroit, Detroit Wayne County Port Authority, Wayne County, and Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision have provided critical pre-development environmental assessment and cleanup activities for numerous projects within this area. This mobile workshop will demonstrate the importance of adding collaborative pieces to the complex puzzle of effective riverfront redevelopment and sustainable land use.
This mobile workshop will highlight unique Brownfield incentives available—not only through federally funded programs—but through collaborative efforts implementing local and state incentives. The main focus of the tour will be the importance of creating partnerships to foster challenging redevelopments. This tour will highlight completed residential (St. Annes Gate), Commercial (Mexicantown International Welcome Center & Mercado Building), and light industrial (Springwell subdivision).
Cancellation and Refund Policy
Cancellation/refund requests cannot be submitted via the website. They must be submitted in writing by mail, fax, or email. Full refunds for mobile workshops will be made to individuals who need to cancel their mobile workshop reservations until the close of business (5:00 PM) April 21, 2008. No refund requests will be accepted after April 21.
Refunds will be processed no later than 15 days from the conference end.
Address all cancellations to: Brownfields 2008 Cancellations, Attention: Janine Taylor, 777 North Capitol Street, NE, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20002-4201; fax (202) 962-3678; email jtaylor@icma.org
We understand that individual travel plans can change at the last minute, however, we regret that there can be no exceptions to this refund policy because of our contractual obligations with the various vendors necessary to ensure successful mobile workshops. Questions regarding refunds can be made to (Ms.) Cory Fleming at cfleming@icma.org or 207-854-1083.