What are Brownfields?

Many areas across the country once used for industrial or commercial purposes sit abandoned or underutilized. Some of these properties may contain hazardous substances, pollutants, petroleum, or other contaminants while some are only assumed to have environmental problems but have not been explored to find its true status.

These properties are considered brownfields.

Brownfields often are in struggling neighborhoods and areas with blight, bare land, deteriorated infrastructure, or other challenges. These properties can be eyesores as well as potential health and safety concerns for the community.

Cleaning up and redeveloping a brownfield property enables infill development, increases the tax base, spurs job creation and often kick-starts revitalization activities within a neighborhood.

Depending on the location and characteristics of the property and market factors, a brownfield site often can be redeveloped for uses ranging from housing, retail, industrial, or mixed-use to public and non-profit uses such as parks, recreation areas and municipal facilities.

Brownfields redevelopment offers other benefits such as improving the local environment by cleaning up bare land and moving abandoned or underused sites into beneficial reuses.

Brownfields grants and programs are afforded to private developers, local governments or public-private partnerships.