The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) celebrated numerous major achievements cleaning up and rehabilitating polluted properties in its 2025 annual report on brownfields, published in March. Brownfields are properties across Minnesota that were abandoned or are underused because of contamination or perceived contamination.

“I give these developers — some of them doing this for the first and maybe only time — a lot of credit for their willingness to think outside the box to make a property like an old gas station work for their business vision,” said Jessie Ebertz, brownfield section manager. “In the end, I think they find that the extra effort pays off in multiple ways.”

Whether it’s a deserted railroad depot, a closed factory, a former dry cleaner, or an abandoned gas station, brownfields offer both a challenge and an opportunity for local communities and developers. The MPCA’s Brownfield Program helps landowners overcome the environmental and legal barriers that otherwise would prevent the redevelopment of these properties.

“There are so many uncertainties in today’s business and property redevelopment market,” Ebertz said. “I hope the business community can weather these storms and continues to see the benefit in addressing contaminated sites and bringing them back into productive use.”

Here are a few examples of recent projects. 

The Yards and Backyards

The Yards and Backyards in South St. Paul is a nearly 4-acre property on the Mississippi River bluffs and near the historic stockyard area. The site was originally developed by 1890 and has since housed residential and commercial businesses, including a fire station, a municipal garage, gasoline filling stations, automotive repair and service businesses, a printing business, a tin shop, and a concrete block manufacturing business. Prior environmental investigations identified impacted soil intermixed with debris, as well as vapors coming from the soil. The buildings now offer luxury apartments with access to regional trails along the river and access to downtown Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and Bloomington. Site investigation activities were paid in part by MPCA targeted brownfield assessment grant funding.

Crane Lake Visitors Center

Crane Lake Visitors Center in Voyageurs National Park is on property historically used for marina operations, including a lakeside fueling station from the mid-1950s through the early 2000s. Cleanup activities included excavation and disposal of impacted soil to prepare the property for new public facilities. The resulting 5,000-square-foot visitor center offers interpretive space, public docks, improved shoreline access, and connections to a regional trail and water-based recreation systems.

Bailey Builds

Duluth has a long history of manufacturing and business, as well as the old buildings that go along with that. Bailey Builds, an art studio in the West Duluth neighborhood, is on the site of a former gas station. In addition to recycling the land, the business uses recycled wood in its creations. The MPCA found little contamination after testing soil, soil vapor, and groundwater, so no cleanup was needed for the redeveloped land use. Funding for brownfields projects allowed the project to move forward. Site investigation activities were paid in part by MPCA targeted brownfield assessment grant funding.

Hatchery Row

Hatchery Row in Battle Lake has historically been used for auto repair, as a gas station, an elevator and feed mill, a warehouse, and a hatchery. Underground storage tanks and soil polluted by fuel were removed during redevelopment. The property now consists of a new mixed-use building, which has spurred additional redevelopment in the community. The site received a DEED Contamination and Cleanup grant, is expected to create 10 jobs, and will increase the city tax base by at least $2.1 million. 

St. Paul Bouldering Project

The St. Paul Bouldering Project took on a new adventure by expanding to a second Twin Cities location in Saint Paul’s West Side neighborhood. The 3.3-acre site had multiple past uses: a foundry, a railroad freight depot, a petroleum-chemical business, and a pharmaceutical manufacturer. As a part of site cleanup, impacted soil was treated and then disposed of at a landfill, and a vapor mitigation system was installed in the renovated building. The site was redeveloped into a 35,000-square-foot recreational facility featuring custom bouldering terrain, fitness and yoga studios, and a sauna. The project received DEED Contamination and Cleanup grant funding and is anticipated to create 43 new jobs, increase the local tax base by $191,838, and leverage $10.7 million of private investment.

To learn more, visit the Brownfields in your community page on the MPCA website.