Former land of Drewry's Brewery receives new makeover

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The eyesore of abandoned land that was once Drewry’s Brewery on South Bend's Northwest Side could be one step closer to new life after years of neglect.

The City of South Bend is partnering with the U.S Environmental Agency to get the job done.

The EPA told ABC57 on Thursday they are already making progress removing the 14,000 tons of debris contaminated with asbestos.

"It’s an exciting step. There's still more work to be done. We know residents have been asking for this for more than a decade,” said Caleb Bauer, the city’s Executive Director of Community Investment.

The city took ownership of the abandoned Drewery’s Brewery site on Elwood Avenue this year after years of neglect, and failed attempts to get the owner to clean it all up.

They started with environmental testing and removing some debris, but this week the EPA got involved in handling the asbestos contamination on site, loading it into trucks to safely take it to approved landfill locations.

Another concern the EPA has is the old 55-gallon drums and containers with paint oil and possibly other chemicals.

The cleanup comes after years of complaints from neighbors about the dangerous eyesore.

"From an environmental standpoint, removing asbestos from the environment is a good thing. From a neighbor's standpoint, removing asbestos so it doesn’t blow around when it gets dry is a good thing for their long-term health,” said Kevin Turner the On Scene Coordinator with the EPA.

He said this is the EPA’s third project in South Bend this year.

The EPA says they will only be handling environmental and asbestos issues, and the city itself will deal with the rest of the demolition, but the agency’s involvement is a major step forward.

"This activity from the federal government could end up saving the taxpayers of South Bend anywhere from $2 to $3 million,” said Bauer.

As the cleanup continues, it’s still not clear what the property will become in the future, but Bauer hopes to see more much needed housing.

"No concrete idea… I think generally when we look at a site that large, we do think there is a strong demand for housing in our market, so some kind of housing would fit really well there,” he added.

The city hopes to be done with the cleanup project by October. Then they plan to work with neighbors to discuss what they envision for the site next in the long run.