Nearly every city has land parcels that were once bustling and productive, but are now empty, vacant or under-utilized.
During the initial development of most cities, manufacturing and industrial businesses typically located their facilities in prime locations near railroads, rivers, highways and other bustling areas. Those manufacturers created jobs and a healthy tax base. Over time, industries abandoned or sold those facilities. Many of those properties may have contaminated soils and/or groundwater due to past practices. These sites are commonly on prime real estate within your communities and are ideal for redevelopment. The contaminated or perceived contaminated lands are called brownfields. In addition to being eyesores and potentially dangerous to health and environment, they can also lower surrounding property value.
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...most brownfields can be mitigated cost effectively, efficiently and quickly.
Fast forward to today. While there is still a demand for manufacturing and industry, communities need to consider new types of businesses and uses for these vacant land parcels. Priority number one is preparing the site for development, which may involve brownfield clean-up. The good news is you have clean-up options and there are resources to help your city fund them.
“We understand that brownfields carry a perception of high remediation costs and liabilities associated with soil and/or groundwater contamination,” SEH environmental lead Al Sunderman says. “However, with federal and state funding available and innovative approaches to clean-up, most brownfields can be mitigated cost effectively, efficiently and quickly. The benefits are starting to outweigh the costs.”
Following these five steps will put you and a potential developer in a better position to start redevelopment on a brownfield site:
Unconventional methods for funding brownfield redevelopment
There are a number of state and federal funding options to help redevelop brownfields.
Below are a few creative funding options that often go overlooked.
Piggybacking occurs when a brownfield project can be combined with a larger non-brownfield project, thereby allowing developers or city officials to utilize funding that's not brownfield specific.
HUD’s Community Development Block Grant offers funds directly to entitlement cities and counties to revitalize distressed communities.
Related Content: 16 Inspiring Examples of Communities Capitalizing on CDBG Funding
A developer can be assessed lower taxes or receive special development considerations in exchange for investing in a brownfield.
Land assembly consists of grouping parcels of land together to minimize the percentage of remediation costs for a developer and/or make a project more feasible. If a local government is able to add other parcels of land together so that the percentage of the total cost dedicated to remediation is smaller, developers may be prone to proceed with a project.
Many cities can put vacant land back on the tax rolls or improve underutilized sites by understanding the challenges of their sites, matching the environmental needs of the site to government programs, and looking for innovative ways to finance and attract a broader range of interested developers. Ultimately, the remediation and redevelopment of brownfield sites and vacant locations can add value to local real estate, create jobs and expand your community’s tax base.
“The proper coordination of local, state and federal governments, private parties and citizens can lead to a successful brownfield redevelopment project,” Sunderman says. “But, these stakeholders must work together to reach a common redevelopment goal for the use of brownfields and how to approach the funding concerns. And when they do, there’s really a win/win for all.”
Al Sunderman is senior scientist and has been doing environmental consulting for over 30 years. He is committed to helping clients make the best use of their opportunities. Contact Al