The Packing House

The Project.

Anaheim’s history is rooted in agriculture from vineyards to citrus, so it makes perfect sense that a repurposed, century-old citrus packing house would act as a revitalized hub for today’s community.

Client:

City of Anaheim

Location:

Anaheim, CA

Services:

  • Environmental

Project Fact:

Within the area are several new residential projects, Farmer’s Park, and the Packing House – a collection of food goodness.

The Leighton Solution.

Leighton was first contracted more than 10 years ago to assume responsibility for the cleanup of a former home improvement center slated for redevelopment as low-income housing. Ultimately, we provided site assessment, Phase II ESAs, and third-party review of developer’s consultants for the agency.

The redevelopment began with Leighton providing the City a Phase I of 27 properties within a three-block area. Each property required a historical search, and identification of environmental concerns and recommendations for further investigation. Phase II investigations on specific properties were ordered as a reuse plan was developed.

For one site, a large area was found with Perchlorethylene. After thorough assessment of the site limits, it was determined that offsite properties impacted groundwater and soil vapor beneath the property with at levels that exceeded the California Human Health Screening Levels established by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) for residential properties. Using the information from the comprehensive site investigation, a Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) indicated that mitigation of PCE in soil vapor would be required to reduce the health risk to acceptable levels in order for the residential development to move forward.

Leighton met with the City, the developer, and DTSC resulting in a plan to mitigate the health risk posed by the PCE via the installation of a vapor barrier with passive venting and periodic monitoring of vapor probes. A removal action workplan was approved by DTSC, allowing construction.