Brownfield redevelopment by the private sector: market driven decision making

Abstract

Most successful Brownfield redevelopment in North America involves a partnership of interests between government and private developers. Much has been written of the need for “Public-Private Partnerships”, as well as community involvement as contaminated Brownfield sites are recycled into economic productivity. Less well understood are the motivation and incentives for private investors and developers to take the risks necessary to succeed at Brownfield redevelopment, and the criteria used by the development community to determine when to do so. The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), of Herndon, Virginia, represent the largest and most experienced owners and developers of commercial real estate in North America. NAIOP is one of the few private sector organizations that has worked with USEPA and other public agencies to promote and enhance the understanding of the private sector opportunities and risks in Brownfield redevelopment. Interviews were conducted with NAIOP members and other Brownfield players regarding the market drivers that motivate private developers and their financial backers to invest their time and resources in Brownfield restoration and redevelopment, and the issues which stand in the way of such investment. Information developed from interviews and discussions with developers, and from NAIOP presentations at EPA’s National Brownfields Conferences and from commercial real estate forums are cited and factored into the analysis of private sector forces that lead to success in Brownfield redevelopment. www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) © 2006 WIT Press WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 94, Brownfields III 21 doi:10.2495/BF060031