Brownfields Success Stories:
Aileen, Inc. - Former Textile Factory, Rappahannock County

Aileen, Inc. was a women's garment assembly company which, at its peak, owned and operated five factories in Virginia in the early 1970s. Due primarily to increased foreign competition in the 1980's, Aileen closed its Virginia operations in early 1994 and teminated almost 250 employees.

Chlorinated solvent contamination (TCE) was discovered in 1993 both on site and in an adjacent drinking water well. The presence of the TCE in groundwater, even at the very low levels present on and off-site, discouraged all potential purchasers since the plant closed in 1994. In 1998, the site was enrolled in the DEQ's Brownfield Assessment Program. The program provided for the sampling of the contaminated wells and a risk assessment to help evaluate the human health risks due to the contamination.

Rappahannock County elected to negotiate a purchase of the property in 2000. Since then, Rappahannock has proceeded through Virginia DEQ's Voluntary Remediation Program and obtained a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion (contingent upon continued monitoring on-site and some use restrictions). Rappahannock County has sold the property to a user who has multiple tenants in various light industrial/storage and assembly uses.

Please feel free to contact Mr. John McCarthy for more information on this exciting brownfield redevelopment success story.