Brownfield Redevelopment Challenging, But Not Impossible, Say Experts

Philip L. Hinerman, partner at FoxRothschild, left, and William P. Lynott, chief executive officer of Viridian Partners

PHILADELPHIA, PA AND HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO—Buying and selling brownfield sites for redevelopment as new, mainly industrial, uses can be challenging, but knowledgeable buyers can relieve some of the remediation headaches for owners of such bedeviled properties, according to two experts who have been working together on acquisition and redevelopment of these sites.

“What you’re looking for is a way to get rid of a contaminated property that’s in your portfolio, something that maybe you’ve dragged your feet on, and you’d like to get it out of the portfolio of the company,” Philip L. Hinerman, a partner at FoxRothschild, a Philadelphia law firm, tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. “On the other hand what you want to do it is make sure that if you do sell that property, that you’re selling it to someone who is a responsible party, who’s going to finish any work that needs to be done on the site, and will get rid of the site once and for all for you. If you’re a buyer, your main concern is that you’ve got to make sure you make a good deal. You have to understand the contamination that is on the property, you have to do your due diligence, you have to make sure you get a price that allows you to do whatever work needs to be done on the property, and that means you’ve got to be willing to accept some delays.”