‘Spudsville’ shows what can happen when you utilize brownfield tools
The word “brownfield” can send many developers scattering like dandelion fluff on a windy day. For some, it can be easier to run from a contaminated piece of property than to dive in and explore its real potential.
Yet financing tools exist that can greatly decrease—or even eliminate—the costs of a renewal project, and even help make that investment profitable. There are funds available for the assessment phases as well as the cleanup phase. You can buy environmental insurance to cover any surprises, such as an undetected underground storage tank. And state and federal tax credits can be utilized to decrease costs.
To illustrate the many options available and how they might be used, the folks at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have written a story about a hypothetical site, Standard Linen in downtown Spudsville.
The fictional story of Standard Linen actually rings quite real. This site, though it is in a prime business location, sat vacant for more than a decade, falling into disrepair. It was a neighborhood eyesore and, worse, the catalyst that led to the deterioration of the downtown. Once an industrial laundry, the site was feared to be contaminated with tetrachloroethene (PCE). A Phase I assessment later also turns up at least two USTs. Many developers backed away from the property. Why would anyone take on such a mess?
Using the story of Standard Linen, the Idaho DEQ shows how a developer can utilize resources to make a project happen: When the right tools are put to use and partnerships at the local, state and federal levels are formed, a developer doesn’t fight the brownfield battle alone. Standard Linen, when cleaned up and redeveloped, is transformed into an urban hotspot that leverages more economic development, an impact the entire community will feel.
And isn’t that a story we’d all like to see come true?
