Clean It and They Will Come? Defining Successful Brownfield Development

Abstract

The redevelopment of former industrial sites can have positive impacts on the environment, economic development, and quality of life in a given community. The federal brownfields initiative of the 1990s was intended to encourage environmental remediation of properties that are typically less contaminated than Superfund sites. Additionally, states have adopted programs that limit environmental liability and allow for risk-based cleanup standards, both of which should encourage a would-be investor or developer. Based on the statistical analysis of data collected from two nationwide surveys, this research shows that factors other than environmental concerns can impact the successful redevelopment of a brownfield. Analyses of the data using descriptive statistics, exploratory data analysis, factor analysis, and hypothesis testing indicate that the following are also influential factors: time to occupancy, total development costs, community support, proposed land use, condition of the local infrastructure, willingness of lending institutions to participate in the financing, support of local politicians, availability of financial incentives, and number of jobs to be created. These results support the idea that successful brownfield development cannot be accomplished by simply addressing the environmental issues.