Removing the Barriers: Repositioning Brownfields Sites for Success
Sponsored by: EPA Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
Repositioning can make the difference between redevelopments that succeed and those that fail - and it's more than just marketing. Repositioning is a term used in the real estate world to describe actions that prepare a site for reuse or redevelopment. This is especially crucial with brownfields sites because environmental impacts can cause time delays and create unknown costs and liabilities. This webinar will discuss how to identify constraints on redevelopment by conducting a reuse assessment and the tools that can be used in the reuse planning process to remove or reduce those constraints. The discussion will not only address the typical environmental impediments found at brownfield sites, but also physical and legal issues that impact the ability to redevelop a property. The webinar will help participants to understand the different types of constraints, prioritize the ones that must be addressed prior to bringing a site to market, and recognizing those that a developer might be willing to take on upon purchase of the property. The webinar will include real-world examples that focus on tough sites in distressed communities.
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Presenters:
Michael Taylor, Vita Nuova, LLC
Michael Taylor, President of Vita Nuova LLC, a national consultancy, leads the repositioning and disposition of complex sites including former nuclear sites, refineries, chemical facilities and sites with significant stigma due to off-site contamination or other issues. Vita Nuova has become known as a specialist in creating value where none exists and developing approaches to long-term sustainable outcomes for all parties. Mr. Taylor has a broad background in environmental science, planning, real estate, stakeholder engagement and sustainability. He chaired the ASTM task group for the National Standard on Sustainable Brownfields Redevelopment and served on the US EPA National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee from 1998-2002. He has trained over 3,000 local economic development, state and federal officials in real estate and redevelopment of contaminated properties, co-authored numerous publications and guidance for US EPA and others and contributed to national brownfields, RCRA and superfund redevelopment policy. He was a graduate Rockefeller fellow at Yale University, where he studied Environmental Science, Public Policy and Ethics. He graduated Cum Laude in Urban Planning and Economics from Roanoke College, is a certified planner with the American Planning Association, and a full member of the Urban Land Institute.
Elaine Richardson, Vita Nuova, LLC
Elaine Richardson has 20 years of experience in senior positions in firms servicing the real estate and environmental industries. She brings leadership and expertise to the position, ensuring that the best possible solutions are provided to clients as well as managing tough issues with stakeholders—public, press, government, and industry. Ms. Richardson has prepared over a dozen reuse assessments on environmentally impaired properties, integrating market opportunities with property constraints. Additionally, Ms. Richardson has focused her communications skills in educating communities on issues related to contamination and redevelopment, and helps build support for the redevelopment of underutilized properties and preservation of green space. Ms. Richardson has significant experience in the real estate industry as a researcher and strategist. She has worked with nationally recognized commercial developers on acquisition identification and analysis, community relations and marketing. Ms. Richardson has authored numerous articles related to environmental, engineering, and real estate issues. She is the past president of The Real Estate Exchange and an active member in the Commercial Real Estate Women National Network. Ms. Richardson has completed industry training in hazardous building materials and OSHA compliance issues. She earned her BS in Communications and Marketing from Southern Connecticut State University.
Patrick Rowe, Vita Nuova, LLC (rowe@vitanuova.net)
Patrick is a public finance and real estate development professional with over 15 years of experience. Prior to working for Vita Nuova, Patrick served in the City of Fort Collins Economic Development Office, where he was the primary staff person to the City's Urban Renewal Authority, and managed other redevelopment focused undertakings, such as drafting the City's Metropolitan District Policy, facilitating the creation of the City's first Business Improvement District, managing reuse/redevelopment grants, and acting as liaison to the development community. Patrick is a graduate of Colorado State University with a business administration degree with concentrations in finance and real estate.
Kathleen Castagna, Vita Nuova, LLC
Kathy Castagna brings extensive experience in brownfields arena. She worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Region 1, in the brownfields program as a Certified Project Officer for 15 years out of a 37-year career at EPA. She worked closely with communities who received EPA Brownfields Assessment, Cleanup and Revolving Loan Fund grants to ensure successful utilization of their grant funds and forward motion on their redevelopment plans. She has experience working with rural communities, regional planning agencies and large cities in helping them implement their brownfields program. That expertise includes project management, community involvement, brownfields reuse planning, area-wide planning, addressing environmental justice issues, and helping communities identify additional funding streams for their projects. Ms. Castagna was part of the EPA team that developed the PREPARED Workbook: Process for Risk Evaluation, Property Analysis and Reuse Decisions for Local Governments Considering the Reuse of Contaminated Properties (2011, revised 2016). This workbook was a first in the nation effort by the US EPA and its contractors to develop a comprehensive planning framework for local governments to incorporate risk management principles into their decision-making process for redeveloping contaminated properties.
Will Warren, Vita Nuova, LLC
Will Warren is an Economic Development Consultant with Vita Nuova and a Certified Economic Developer (CECD) through the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). He brings over a decade of development experience to the Vita Nuova Team. His past development experience has allowed him to work in the public and non-profits sectors at the local, regional, state and federal level, creating economic and community development opportunities resulting in increased job growth and the creation of business investment.
Through his career, he has managed public and private development projects, brownfield redevelopment programs, strategic planning processes and developed economic and community development strategies for local and regional entities. Prior to economic development consulting, Mr. Warren was previously a Development and Finance Analyst for the City of Cleveland. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from Western Kentucky University and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Kentucky.
Jim Rocco, Vita Nuova, LLC
Jim Rocco's expertise and primary interests are in multi-criteria structured decision making and the management, communication, and resolution of environmental risks related to brownfield and other environmentally impacted properties. His focus includes the design, specification, and development of processes and software applications to support environmental risk management and decision making and the accessibility, presentation, and dissemination of information through the use of geographic information systems (GIS) and tabular databases. Mr. Rocco has extensive experience and involvement in the development of technical solutions for environmental risk management and the implementation of structured decision making in a multi-stakeholder environment to support corrective action and redevelopment. He has worked with stakeholders at all levels, including federal and state environmental regulators, and communities surrounding facilities. He has developed and negotiated liability transfer mechanisms including the application of institutional and engineering controls associated with the transfer and redevelopment of over 300 sites in 17 states. He has actively supported and participated in the development of environmental covenants as a means of addressing long-term care for institutional and engineering controls.
Moderator:
Aimee Storm, U.S. EPA, Office of Brownfield and Land Revitalization (storm.aimee@epa.gov or 202-566-0633)
Aimee Storm is EPA's Land Revitalization Coordinator within EPA's Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR). Her work supports community-led redevelopment of contaminated properties and associated neighborhood revitalization strategies. Prior to joining OBLR, Aimee worked on projects that promote green and healthy buildings and sustainable development approaches within EPA Region V's Chicago office. She also worked with EPA's Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse Office, where she coordinated EPA's land reuse and revitalization efforts on federally-owned properties, including military base redevelopment. Aimee holds Masters Degrees in City & Regional Planning and Business Administration.
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Rehabilitation Act Notice for Reasonable Accommodation
It is EPA's policy to make reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities wishing to participate in the agency's programs and activities, pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 791. Any request for accommodation should be made to at or , preferably one week or more in advance of the seminar, so that EPA will have sufficient time to process the request. EPA would welcome specific recommendations from requestors specifying the nature or type of accommodation needed, such as closed captioning.
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