RACER Trust Video Summarizes Success of Cleanup Activities, Preparation for Redevelopment of Property in Massena, N.Y.

RACER Trust today announced the release of a documentary-style video that summarizes RACER’s work to clean up a former General Motors manufacturing property in Massena, N.Y., and position it for redevelopment and beneficial reuse.

The video, titled, “Massena, N.Y.: Prepared for Prosperity,” recaps the property’s historic use and importance to the community as a source of jobs and tax revenue, as well as legacy contamination that RACER Trust has been cleaning up under the direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

RACER Trust was given title to the former Massena GM property, as well as the responsibility to complete cleanup activities ordered by the EPA, in March 2011. Active remediation of the property is nearly complete, and RACER Trust will work with EPA to undertake the eventual removal of the property from the EPA’s Superfund program.

“RACER Trust’s environmental cleanup team, under the leadership of our New York Cleanup Manager Brendan Mullen, has been stellar in its execution of our activities in Massena, meeting EPA project standards flawlessly and preparing the property to once again be an engine of prosperity for Massena and the North Country.” said Elliott P. Laws, of EPLET, LLC, administrative trustee of RACER Trust. “The cleanup was at times complex, but it has been carried out safely, effectively and collaboratively, meeting all of the goals and benchmarks set forth by the EPA. We’re very proud of our work in Massena and look forward to attracting a buyer who will invest in job creation and productive reuse of the property.”

The property, totaling approximately 217 acres, is located along N.Y. Route 37 and the St. Lawrence River, in the Town of Massena. It is adjacent to an international bridge crossing to Canada and served by rail.

“We are very encouraged by the market’s expressions of interest  in our Massena property,” Mr. Laws said. “Its location, infrastructure, access to low-cost, renewable energy and workforce availability all have gotten the attention of businesses that have specific capacity needs that an investment in this property can help them fulfill. We are pleased to have reached this point in preparing the property, but we will be satisfied only after the property has changed hands and the new owner is maximizing its redevelopment potential for the good of the community.”

Translated Videos
 
RACER Trust has prepared closed-caption translations for the video in three languages — French, Italian and Mohawk. To access the translated videos, please click the corresponding link below:
 
Français
Italiano
Mohawk

About RACER Trust: RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust was created to clean up and position for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by the former General Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy. RACER is one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States, and when it was formed was the largest environmental response and remediation trust in U.S. history. When the Trust was formed, it owned properties at 89 locations in 14 states, principally in the Midwest and Northeast. The Trust was created by a settlement agreement in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court between the U.S. Government, the 14 states where the former GM properties are located, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which owns land adjoining one of the properties in Upstate New York. For more information, please visit our website: www.racertrust.org.