Source: http://www.kcchronicle.com, may 20, 2017
By: Mark Foster

Former Siemens factory site is contaminated

Work is expected to get underway next month on an environmental cleanup of the former Siemens factory site on Batavia’s west side.
The vacant property, at the southwest corner of McKee Street and North Van Nortwick Avenue, is contaminated with foundry sands, a ferrous byproduct of foundry operations.
Batavia Community Development Director Scott Buening said it will take Siemens about 90 days to excavate and haul off the foundry sands, as well as to grade and seed the site.
“We are relieved it’s happening,” Buening said.
Worldwide technology giant Siemens closed the factory in 2006 and demolished the building in 2009. Removal of the foundations did not occur until a couple of years ago.
Siemens will be required to submit soil testing results to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to determine that the site is free of contamination, Buening said.
Once the IEPA certifies that the property has been cleaned up, Siemens will be in a position to sell the property for redevelopment.
The land falls under the city’s mixed-use zoning classification, meaning a redevelopment proposal could have both commercial and residential uses, including townhouses.
Siemens acquired the Furnas Electric Co. factory in 1996. Furnas Electric began operations at the site in 1940, manufacturing electronic switches and motor controls.
In addition to getting rid of the foundry sands, Siemens also plans to remove two parking lots under its control.
One of those parking lots is at the northwest corner of McKee and Van Nortwick, near H.C. Storm School. The parking lot is part of an 8.2-acre parcel owned by Siemens extending along the north side of McKee, across the street from the former factory site.
At a recent Batavia City Council committee meeting, 3rd Ward Alderman Elliot Meitzler expressed concern at the elimination of the parking lot. He noted that many parents use the lot when dropping off and picking up their children at Storm because of limited parking at the school.
“There are many parents who park on that small lot and walk over just to avoid the Storm circle,” Meitzler said later.
Buening said Furnas wants to remove its potential legal liability and the cost of maintaining the parking lot. Mayor Jeff Schielke indicated there is probably not much the city can do at this point to save the parking lot.
The other lot to be removed is on the western side of the main fenced-in property south of McKee, which consists of two parcels.
The factory site along Van Nortwick, where most of the cleanup will occur, covers 8.6 acres. Further west is a 13.6-acre parcel for which Siemens has a long-term lease with the owner, the Weirich family of Batavia.