Driving by Goodale’s Bike Shop on Broad Street in Nashua you would never know the property was a previously contaminated and abandoned brownfield.  Goodale’s Bike Shop and the surrounding retail buildings stand on the former Whitney Screw site.  The property was used for a number of industrial activities from the early 1900s until it was abandoned in 1985.
In 1999, the City of Nashua was awarded a $200,000 US EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant to prioritize and conduct assessment of properties in the Broad Street Redevelopment Corridor.  An environmental assessment of the Whitney property found a variety of contaminants, including lead in the soil; lead paint; petroleum soaked wood flooring, boxes, and soil; potential asbestos-containing building material, heavy metal contaminated soils, and an extensive area of varsol contaminated groundwater.  Despite its extensive contamination, the property had great redevelopment potential.  Late in 2001 Smith Jackson, LLC purchased the property and began working with the NH Dept. of Environmental Services (DES) to develop a Remedial Action Plan.  Cleanup work on the site was financed in part by the loan agreement made under the DES Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund.
	The former Whitney Screw property is now home to Goodale’s Bike Shop, New England’s largest bicycle dealer, as well as 50,000 ft2 of additional retail space.  This site is certainly a success story and can serve as a model for other brownfields projects in the region.  To learn more about the redevelopment of Whitney Screw, follow the links below.
“Successful Partnerships Make for a Successful Brownfields Program” NH DES Brownfields Success Stories: Whitney Screw
Remnants of New Hampshire’s industrial heritage can be seen in the state’s historic mill towns, many of which have rejuvenated buildings that contribute to their quaint charm.   Less idyllic reminders of our industrial past can also be found, including the environmental pollutants and hazardous contaminants that were left behind. There are a number of efforts underway throughout the state to cleanup and redevelop these brownfield sites.  For more information, please visit the NH DES Brownfields Program.

Page updated 3/20/08