WATERLOO - The discovery of a buried mass of twisted metal and debris has forced the city to rethink its plans for an abandoned manufacturing site.

But Waterloo city officials are working with state and federal environmental agencies to find a solution and still allow a business to relocate at the former Construction Machinery Co. site at 625 Glenwood St.

"At one point we came up with plans to clean it all out, to clean up the whole site," said Community Planning and Development Director Noel Anderson. "But once they got in there and started digging they found not only did they dump paint, but there was metal, pails, garbage, even a bicycle."

All the metal dumped in a trench along the rear of the property was burned. It melded into solid chunk of debris, which became too costly to remove.

"The new plan is to do a 'closure in place,' and we're working with EPA to make that happen," Anderson said. "Nothing is leaking out of there (into surrounding neighborhoods) from what we've seen."

Construction Machinery Corp. produced cement mixers and other construction equipment for many years before closing under financial duress. A successor company went bankrupt in the early 1990s, leaving the industrial complex unused. It quickly became an eyesore and magnet for vandals, who set a series of fires.

The city acquired 6.3 acres of the site from a tax sale investor in 2004 and used an Iowa Brownfields grant to demolish the buildings. It was enrolled in the Iowa Land Recycling Program, and another $550,000 in state and federal funds - including some $300,000 the city must eventually repay - was set aside to test for and clean up known underground contamination.

Environmark Corp., of Davenport, was paid just under $400,000 in 2007 to remove two 8,000-gallon railroad tanker cars, which were buried on the site to dispose of solvents and other chemicals used by CMC.

Much of the contaminated material was hauled to a special disposal site in Michigan before discovery of more buried drums and the metal trench were found.

City Council members voted unanimously last week to approve a $7,100 contract with Howard R. Green Co., of Cedar Rapids, to prepare a new site plan for the land, which will include an easement over the trench.

"It will historically document not to put a building there," said Anderson, noting structures would be allowed on the rest of the site, which has been cleaned up. "You're going to have to find a company that's willing to come in knowing the contamination is there."

Ward 4 City Councilman Quentin Hart said it is vital for the city to ensure the CMC site stays clean or gets redeveloped, because it is situated around a residential area.

"People want to see the city do what's best for the neighborhood and get it cleaned up," Hart said.

Anderson said the CMC site is zoned for industrial use and will be shown as an option to potential businesses looking to locate in Waterloo. Finding firms to move into a "brownfields" redevelopment area is more difficult than helping a business build in a new industrial park. He hopes marketing can bring revitalization.

"We'll definitely have it in the toolbox to show it to people as one of our sites," said Anderson, noting an adjacent 25,000-square-foot, privately owned building is also on the market and could be used in conjunction with the overall development.

The CMC site is one of several former industrial locations in Waterloo being primed for reuse. Demolition is ongoing at the former Chamberlain Manufacturing Co. site on East Fourth Street; two buildings are being torn down at the former Rath Packing Co. plant along Vinton Street; and the former Rath Administration Building, along Sycamore Street, is expected to be renovated by private investors.

Contact Tim Jamison at (319) 291-1577 or tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com.