At first glance, brownfield and greenfield development are both real estate development deals. The same fundamental principle applies: bring the project together on time and on budget, with minimal risk. Brownfield and urban site redevelopment, however, is not your standard real estate deal. It suffers from a level of complexity, uncertainty, and risk that a greenfield development does not. The closing checklist of items for brownfield redevelopment is different and filled with many unappealing choices. But with a new menu of initiatives, a better selection for brownfield development may emerge.

In 2006, a new office directed to managing and organizing brownfield programs was created in Connecticut. Called the Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development, the new office is to oversee, coordinate and streamline the brownfield redevelopment process. A pilot program was also created to provide enhancements to four municipalities to develop properties differently than existing law would allow in order to stimulate development and evaluate these new economic development tools. A Task Force was also created to study long term legislative changes to brownfield redevelopment. At the time the Task Force issued its report to the Connecticut legislature in February, 2007, no less than ten Brownfields-oriented bills were introduced in the General Assembly for action.

The Task Force report offers a number of solutions to incentivize the private sector and stimulate the redevelopment of Connecticut’s Brownfields, It focuses on three primary areas for reform.

Proposed Organization Changes

Meaningful changes to centralize the state’s organizational apparatus are needed and a project developer needs to know who to call. The Task Force proposes that OBRD coordinates with the two state funding authorities (the Connecticut Development Authority and the Department of Economic and Community Development), the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, other key state agencies, and the municipalities. The OBRD is to coordinate the funding programs, address regulatory challenges, streamline the permitting process and be the project developer’s place to call.

Proposed Funding Programs

Experience has shown that funding through any of the existing programs generally makes sense for large economic development projects in “distressed municipalities” or “target investment communities” that can survive a burdensome and lengthy application process. Tax increment financing is similarly oriented to larger projects that have a single responsible property taxpayer. Other state programs have become underutilized either because of communication breakdowns, process delays, the passage of time or the perceived lack of money. The Task Force recommended expanding program funding opportunities to provide clear financial support and incentives to the local governments, developers, and property owners. Funding initiatives, through a new $200 million grant and loan program, were proposed and expanded beyond the existing array of program choices. Brownfield funding should be available for commercial, industrial, retail, residential and municipal in every town. And, the Task Force urged expanding all programs to include loans and grants for cetain existing “legacy” property owners as well as new “white knight” developers, who have no existing liability for a property. A municipality or regional economic development authority also could be a grant recipient to jump start a redevelopment, which grant would be awarded on an annual competitive basis year to assure program implementation.

Proposed Regulatory & Liability Reform

Regulatory and liability changes were also recommended in an attempt to manage risk and minimize uncertainty. The Task Force recommended that a brownfield remediation agreement be entered into before a developer acquires ownership, which could include a covenant not to sue, protection from natural resource damages, third party claims and agency reopeners. At the very least, timely regulatory approval of the remediation is required so that the question “when am I done?” is answered.

While new directions for the state’s program are being debated, brownfield redevelopment is still about location. To successfully develop a brownfield today requires meaningful and intelligent preplanning beyond the typical business model. A cookie cutter approach does not produce successful brownfield redevelopment. The recipe calls for consulting a trusted team of knowledgeable, experienced attorneys, consultants, design professionals, engineers and accountants. Add a dash of community ourtreach and a large helping of municipal support and the project moves forward. New programs will set the table differently and provide a new menu of choices but the ingredients will remain the same.