PHOENIX — Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) officials announced today an $86,000 brownfields grant to the City of Winslow to remove asbestos and lead-based paint from the former LZ Budget Motel located along historic Route 66 at 1102 E. 2nd St., Winslow in Navajo County. ADEQ’s Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) will oversee this work.

Owned by the City of Winslow and located within the City’s redevelopment district in the heart of historic downtown, the approximate one-acre parcel former LZ Budget Motel site consists of four vacant structures in a severe state of deterioration due to previous fires, years of weathering and no maintenance. Unoccupied for years and the subject of frequent vandalism and vagrancy, this brownfields grant-funded environmental cleanup work is the next of several steps necessary to eliminate the blight and prepare the property for redevelopment that will emphasize the needs of the community and boost economic vitality.

“Recovering blighted properties by administering non-competitive grants through ADEQ’s brownfields program is just one way we accomplish environmentally responsible economic growth in our state,” ADEQ Waste Programs Division Director Laura Malone said. “Our staff works diligently with grant applicants to create customized solutions that maximize program benefits for each community’s unique needs.”

Brownfields are properties with active redevelopment potential hindered by known or perceived environmental contamination. Since it began in 2003, ADEQ’s brownfields grant program has funded more than 50 projects assisting local governments and nonprofits in completing environmental assessments and cleanup. Currently accepting applications, ADEQ’s brownfields grant program conducts projects through Arizona’s State Response Grant using funds provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.