A Cure for Cancer: Brownfield Redevelopment

By Robert V. Colangelo

Suppose a pill was developed that would cure all cancers. This pill would be inexpensive to produce and readily available. It would wipe out a major disease worldwide, creating global change. How long would it take for the world to assimilate this great idea and replace existing medical technologies, processes and business practices? Would it take one day, one year … one decade?

Even great ideas take time to work their way to market acceptance. They must replace existing supply chains and business relationships and change the way people think and act. Some oppose change because it disrupts their interests, others embrace change because it creates new opportunities.

Brownfields are a great idea and we all know the mantra — (chant while you read this) they clean up blight, improve the tax base, create jobs, curb sprawl …  But it has taken a long time for business and individuals to recognize that you can buy, sell and redevelop these properties in a responsible manner. In the last 12 months we have seen explosive growth and increased brownfield awareness — brownfields are now in vogue. But it took more then 10 years for the concept to surface and for business practices to change.

Most people have long recognized the problem of brownfields. As Mayor Robert Jones of the City of Kalamazoo said at the recent Michigan Mayors Meeting, brownfields are a cancer. Left unabated, he explained, they metastasize and spread throughout a community, taking the economic life out of an area. The redevelopment of brownfields, on the other hand, can bring hope and an economic cure, allowing the community to come together to redevelop their city.  But how does a city get started? Many of the easy brownfield sites have now been redeveloped. However, existing sites with positive value are often located in areas with little or questionable market demand or consist of smaller parcels. Most developers are looking to do the “megadeal” and are not beating a path to a city’s door for the smaller, more complicated sites.

In this issue we offer some guidance with what we hope will become an annual feature, “Doing the Deal.” In this feature, our editorial board assesses an actual brownfield site in Rochester, New York. They each give advice on how to get the site redeveloped from their unique perspectives. Contributing to this feature are experts from various backgrounds: a corporate property owner, a brownfield developer, an environmental consultant, an insurance broker, an environmental accountant, a community development specialist, and a representative of the U.S. EPA.

We thank our editors for their insightful comments and analysis as well as the City of Rochester for providing us with the case study. We encourage other cities that are looking to redevelop brownfields to submit problem sites for next year’s analysis. All good ideas take time, and through time we hope that “Doing the Deal” will become an anticipated annual issue for our readers. 

For those going west in November, we look forward to seeing you in Denver at the upcoming EPA/ICMA Brownfields 2005 conference, where Brownfield News will again be the official conference magazine. The conference issue will feature a market forecast where our experts will gaze into their crystal balls and provide their prognostications of what the future holds for the various sectors and sub-sectors of the ever-changing brownfield market. The editorial board will discuss their predictions at the conference during their Market Forecast presentation scheduled for November 2 at 10:30. If you plan to attend the forecast make sure you bring your sunglasses, because the brownfield future looks bright. BFN

Enjoy the Read!
Robert V. Colangelo, Publisher