Sometimes the unique physical characteristics of a brownfield cause redevelopment to get stuck. Technology can be helpful in “unsticking” the redevelopment process when given enough broad thinking and patience. A few examples can help explain what I mean.

The Ohio River Park Superfund site in Allegheny County, Penn., was slated to cost $30 million, an amount that dramatically slowed the remediation process. A bright engineer/scientist noticed during an annual review that natural attenuation of contaminants in the groundwater was occurring at a rapid rate. The potentially responsible party requested and received an eight-year period to demonstrate that monitored natural attenuation (MNA) could replace the selected pump-and-treat remedy. The MNA technical solution unstuck the remediation process and allowed development to proceed. The property is the first U.S. EPA Region 3 Super fund site to have been sold. The property has been developed as a Title IX sports complex for the Robert Morris University.

Source: URS, Cleveland, Ohio

Raingardens in Toledo saved space and provided stormwater treatment.

GM wished to close the Hyatt-Clark facility in New Jersey, which provided a redevelopment opportunity for the community. Capping and monitoring the site was determined to be the most protective and cost-effective solution. However, the residual soil contamination extended over an area greater than 30 acres, which resulted in significant cost. The technical solution was to develop a world-class golf course. The golf course design and landscaping was partially based on the specific areas of the property where soil barriers were needed to adequately protect the golfers. Placement of soil barriers over the residual constituent areas, rather than soil removal and replacement, saved GM more than a million dollars.

The Amforge Industrial facility in the Pullman District of Chicago had significant PCB contamination, requiring excavation and removal of large vertical concrete storage tanks. Backfilling the 30-foot deep excavation would require a costly backfill process to replace the soils in a way that would facilitate construction of the new building. Working through the close relationship between the future user and the City of Chicago, the technical solution was to shift uses within the new community center so that the diving end of the swimming pool would be constructed over the deep tank excavation area, thus saving the significant cost of compacted backfill.

A municipal landfill in La Porte, Ind., was not properly closed when it ceased operations in the 1980s. Futile regulatory discussions had been ongoing for years. Redevelopment of the area became a priority for the city. The technical solution was to create an alternative landfill cover that met historic regulatory agreements yet provided protection to current users. The use of natural vegetated areas to restrict trespass, and use of alternative materials for the cover and construction of a bike trail allowed this 50-acre landfill to connect to adjacent parks and resolve the decades-old closure issues.

A last example is the Riverfront Park in the Marina District of Toledo, Ohio. The $20 million park, roadway and infrastructure project is the first phase of a planned $320 million mixed-use community on the Maumee River. The brownfield site is the home of the former Acme Power Plant. Stormwater storage and detention space within the development area was limited. The technical solution was a series of raingardens. Stormwater will outfall to four-tiered raingardens providing filtration of the first flush of runoff. The raingardens will not only filter the stormwater runoff, but provide needed color and horticultural interest. Construction starts within two months.

Here’s the message: perhaps it is time to reassess brownfields that have become stuck because of difficult or unique physical challenges. Technology can’t improve market conditions; but the willingness of communities and owners to work together, along with the improvement of technical applications may help “unstick” a previously boggeddown initiative.

Ken Kastman is a princpal engineer and vice president at URS Corporation