The mayor says an extensive mitigation process is necessary to make a large brownfield at the corner of 13th and Hulman streets viable once again.
"We're finally breaking ground this week on getting that site - beginning the process to clean it up," Bennett says.
He says the most valuable property is being remediated with funding from a bond the city took out to pay for its waste-water treatment plant and combined sewer overflow project.
Bennett hopes to see the site cleaned up and back on the tax rolls as soon as possible.
"We believe this is a prime location for light industrial or commercial - I could see warehousing there. We've had an interest from a trucking company who would be interested in that location - those kinds of things would be a perfect fit," Bennett said.
"Just getting it cleaned up and into someone's hands is the primary goal."