State's Second Brownfield Agreement Signed in Raleigh
RALEIGH -- North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Deputy Secretary Henry Lancaster today announced that the state has signed a brownfield agreement with Capitol Way, Inc., to redevelop the old Pilot Mills property in downtown Raleigh near Peace College.
This is the second agreement reached under the Brownfield Property Reuse Act, which went into effect October 1, 1997. Environmental groups, the business community, and DENR cooperated to get this bill passed. The bill is designed to allow the safe redevelopment of abandoned properties and relieve the prospective developer of liability.
"Reclaiming this historic property will turn an eyesore into a creative blend of retail, offices and apartments," said Deputy Secretary Lancaster. "What is occurring here today is recycling of a different kind -- recycling of land and buildings. Rather than developing a greenfield site outside of the city and thereby contributing to urban sprawl, Capitol Way is redeveloping this property from an old cotton handling and production facility into a creative blend of apartments and offices."
Frank Gailor, the developer for the Pilot Mills property, said the property had been thoroughly investigated under the guidance of the NC Division of Waste Management. Although groundwater beneath the site is contaminated, Capital Way has committed to never drill water supply wells on the property. A small area of soil contamination adjacent to the smokestack foundation will also be permanently capped and landscaped.
Before the brownfield legislation was enacted, abandoned and contaminated properties were often left to the elements because prospective developers could not obtain financing on land with a dubious environmental past even though they did not cause the problems. This occurred because environmental liability was very open-ended with potentially millions of dollars at stake for cleanup. Lending institutions were concerned about making risky loans.
Brownfield agreements broke this financial barrier by defining the environmental items for which a prospective developer would be held liable. These agreements spell out what is expectged to make the site safe for the redevelopment proposed, and it allows a bank to make a business decision on a loan without worrying about open-ended costs.
Deputy Secretary Lancaster said that 14 more Brownfield agreements were in the pipeline. These projects range from redeveloping a small downtown dry cleaner to redeveloping an abandoned furniture plant that will create hundreds of jobs.
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Contact person: Pat Williamson, 919-733-4996, ext. 337
Date Posted: 12/14/98
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