Myth #2:
Brownfields are not suitable for commercial or community reuse.
Reality: Contrary to this common myth, brownfield properties are being successfully cleaned up and reused as hospitals, nature observatories, schools, corporate headquarters, high-rise urban condominiums, and single-family housing developments. State and federal environmental agencies, working with individuals cleaning up brownfields, often tailor the cleanup to the intended reuse, be it industrial, commercial, residential, or recreational. Those properties cleaned up for non-residential uses may meet less stringent cleanup standards and have lower cleanup costs than those that will be used for residential sites and school facilities.

One example is the former Bayley Company property, located in Springfield, Ohio. Suitable for commercial and community re-use, the property was originally developed as a manufacturing facility in the late 1800s by William Bayley, an icon of Springfield’s industrial revolution. The facility operated until the mid 1980s.

Community Hospital of Spring-field and Mercy Health Partners cleaned up the Bayley property and redeveloped the site as a 22,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, cancer treatment center. The Springfield Cancer Center, as it is now known, is recognized as a leader not only in cancer treatment, but in furthering the truth that a brownfield can be a safe and appropriate property for a sensitive use.

Another example is the expansion of Tiffin University onto the Rosenblatt Steel Property, an eyesore to the community as an operating scrapyard for more than 75 years. Tiffin University and the City of Tiffin have leveraged over $1 million in environmental assessment and cleanup money to help move the university’s expansion forward. The commercial reuse includes a new $9 million Recreation Center that will provide Tiffin University with needed indoor facilities for varsity sports, intramurals, club sports, and community activities, and university functions, such as commencement and social events.

Myth #3:
Buyers won’t be able to re-sell a former brownfield property.
Reality: Contrary to this myth, former brownfield properties are frequently bought and resold. Location, infrastructure and size can create special value for former brownfields. Certainly, brownfield property can also have value impairments resulting from known risks, undefined risks and stigma associated with the property or neighborhood. However, purchase, followed by remediation, development and/or use, can be demonstrated to add value to the property and facilitate profitable resale of the property.

In fact, the prospects for making profits from brownfield redevelopment have resulted in the emergence of numerous companies that develop, invest, insure, and/or provide assistance for brownfield resale. Future buyers will assign value to the activities that have been completed to define and/or manage risks associated with the property.

Redevelopment can remove the stigma associated with the property and even stimulate neighborhood development.

You have only to look at Lockland, Toledo or Akron to see successful resale and the transformation that can occur at brownfields.

Columbus Auto Parts, an automotive parts manufacturer from 1912 to 1988, was bought, remediated and successfully resold. It was abandoned as a brownfield in 1989, and was subject to a USEPA removal action.

Subsequent development of nearby property (Crew Stadium) attracted the interest of commercial developers. Crewville, Ltd., purchased the property and, after remediation, obtained an Ohio VAP Covenant not to sue. The property has subsequently been divided and resold. It now consists of five commercial businesses, including a large retail store and several restaurants.

This series is presented by the Ohio N BAs’ (N BA) Technical Subcommittee.