With more and more infill sites being developed, environmental due diligence on potential development sites has become the norm, partly due to the insistence of lenders and municipalities.
"When business people dig into a would-be acquisition's books to make sure nothing's amiss with the numbers, it's known as due diligence. Increasingly, developers are having to undertake a similar procedure to assess the environmental status of property they want to purchase.
The procedure's formal name is Environmental Site Assessment (ESA). This three-phase process begins with a historical review of a property's past uses (ESA1), which usually costs about $2,000. Phase two (ESA2) involves drilling core samples and performing laboratory tests on soil and groundwater; fees range from less than $5,000 to upward of $20,000. Phase three (ESA3), the remediation, or cleanup, can cost anywhere from thousands to millions of dollars.
Although banks were the first to push for ESAs, municipalities are now increasingly likely to require them. Recent legislative changes have made municipalities directly liable for environmental issues related to property."
FULL STORY: Caveat developer: What lies beneath?
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
How California Transit Agencies are Addressing Rider Harassment
Safety and harassment are commonly cited reasons passengers, particularly women and girls, avoid public transit.
Significant Investments Needed to Protect LA County Residents From Climate Hazards
A new study estimates that LA County must invest billions of dollars before 2040 to protect residents from extreme heat, increasing precipitation, worsening wildfires, rising sea levels, and climate-induced public health threats.
Federal Rule Raises Cost for Oil and Gas Extraction on Public Lands
An update to federal regulations raises minimum bonding to limit orphaned wells and ensure cleanup costs are covered — but it still may not be enough to mitigate the damages caused by oil and gas drilling.
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Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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ULI Northwest Arkansas
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