A contaminated brownfield that was once the site of the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Co. plant is beginning to have some new life breathed into it, as preparations move forward for the development of Riverpoint West.

However, city officials and developers must still wait to see whether federal funding is approved that would allow development of the remainder of the area.

Initial soil and groundwater remediation efforts are nearly complete at the former PDM site, a fenced-off 26-acre field that forms the southeast corner of the Riverpoint West area. That sets the stage for a year of groundwater treatment, followed by another year of monitoring, said Dennis Sensenbrenner, environmental department manager for Terracon Consultants Inc., an environmental consulting company hired by Hubbell Realty Co.

The process is the first step toward plans by Hubbell Realty and River Point West LLC to redevelop the area between Southwest Ninth Street and Fleur Drive, with the Raccoon River forming its southern boundary and West Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway to the north.

Besides a steel plant, the PDM site has been used for a sawmill, petroleum storage and even a blacksmith shop.

The process of remediating or replacing portions of the contaminated soil has been under way for the past seven weeks and is nearly complete, Sensenbrenner said. “Some [soil] will be removed, some will be replaced based on its intended usage,” he said. “The one area on the western side is considered to be future residential, so that will have a much stricter requirement.”

At the same time, Davenport-based Enviromark Corp. has completed installation of a groundwater remediation system, which Terracon will operate and monitor to remove petroleum contaminants from the water.

“We’re hoping that will run for a year, and then we’ll do the post-remedial monitoring for four quarters to make sure it stays at those levels,” Sensenbrenner said.

To pay for the cleanup, the city plans to lend $1 million in EPA funds to Hubbell Realty Co. to be used in the remediation.

Under a plan backed by the city, Hubbell would construct three flex-space office buildings totaling 143,000 square feet on the east side of the site. River Point West LLC plans to build townhomes and condominiums on the western half of the site.

Hubbell Realty has contracted with Terracon for similar remediation work for the a number of its commercial projects in the past, as well as for current projects such as cleanup of the Spaghetti Works building on Court Avenue, said Casey Port, a senior project manager for Hubbell Realty.

For Riverpoint West, the company has said it expects to begin construction in 2008, provided there is evidence of sufficient demand from potential tenants.

The city of Des Moines’ economic development office plans to apply for a $17.5 million loan through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Section 108 program, and has amended a $2 million request for a federal economic development initiative grant, said Ellen Walkowiak, an economic development coordinator for the city.

“To get the $2 million grant, you need to have a competitive loan application, so they are very much integrated,” she said. The ongoing remediation efforts at the former PDM site are not contingent upon receiving the funding. However, demolition of buildings and cleanup of the adjacent Riverpoint sites will hinge on the funding, Walkowiak said.

“It’s a critical element of the project moving forward,” she said. “Hubbell is also waiting to see what the outcome of that will be. Everyone’s proceeding in good faith, waiting to see if the financing will go forward.”

If the federal funding is not approved, Hubbell Realty has said it would proceed with an alternate plan to construct 10 office-retail buildings across the entire 23-acre site.

Walkowiak said she expects to present the applications to the City for approval at its July 10 meeting.