SINGLETON ENVIRONMENTAL, INC.
Brownfield Redevelopment Commercial Land Site Assessment
So…You have a nice piece of commercial property that you want to develop. Was it zoned previously as Industrial use? Singleton Environmental can assist you in making the decision about a Brownfield Commercial Land Site Assessment plan. When we consult on your development project, we will provide you with the information needed to determine is the risk worth the reward.
Let’s determine what a Brownfields Property is:
Generally speaking, a brownfields site always refers to industrial land that has been abandoned and that is also contaminated with low levels of hazardous waste and pollutants. Trying to develop such a property for use can be extremely complicated with environmental contamination present. It can be very costly to remediate, however, this property could also be the next multi-million dollar commercial re-use project.
What are the key challenges of brownfields redevelopment?
Environmental Liability Concerns:
The amount of contaminants on the property may decrease your desire to purchase the property. By consulting with Singleton Environmental, we will provide you with a full report on all site contaminants and costs to remediate.
Financial Barriers:
Private lenders are often hesitant to invest in potentially impaired brownfield properties. Commercial lenders will require an Environmental Consult on the subject Brownfield property.
Cleanup Deadline:
The cleanup process may be too long for your liking, pushing your development date back
Reuse Planning and Pushback:
You may have several options on how to redevelop the land, but ultimately it must be economically sound for the community ie: market potential, community goals.
In spite of these challenges, significant opportunities exist for successful brownfields redevelopment.
What does the EPA have to say?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a brownfield is a property, expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of land that may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Brownfields are often abandoned or closed by industrial or commercial facilities including: factories, warehouses, oil and gas refineries, etc. Brownfields can also be subjected to illegal dumping of leftover pollutants. Due to the state of the property, not many people will consider it for a brownfields redevelopment project.
There are currently around 450,000 brownfields in the United States in need of remediation and redevelopment– many of which in prime real estate locations. These abandoned sites sit idle rotting and decaying for decades, often seen as visual burdens to their cities.
Could this vacant property be your next multi-million dollar brownfields redevelopment project?
Key Players in brownfields redevelopment:
The more professionals involved in the redevelopment process, the smoother the project planning is. The redevelopment process must rely on strong coordination between the following participants: property owners, public-sector stakeholders (local governments, community groups), private-sector stakeholders (lenders, investors, developers), and other parties that may enter at different times of the project (attorneys, environmental consultants).
Key Steps in brownfields redevelopment:
- Pre-development
- Identify a property with potential economic benefit and refine a development idea
- Conduct environmental due diligence
- Research and secure sources of financing
- Purchase the property
- Negotiate contracts and financing
- Establish remedial action plan
- Remediation and development
- Clean up
- Construction
- Property sale/lease
- Completion and formal opening
- Property management
- Establish long-term operations and maintenance of remedial systems
Brownfields redevelopment can be a huge economic benefit to federal, state and local governments. Remediation and redevelopment of these brownfields is often the key to creating jobs, expanding the tax base, and revitalizing the economy of local communities. For this reason, federal and state programs have been put in place to assist the developers in the remediation process by implementing grants, loans, regulatory guidance, technical assistance and more.
Types of brownfield grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding