Brownfields are rural or urban industrial commercial sites that are abandoned or underused because of real or perceived contamination. Communities across the country face the challenge of putting these idle sites back to work, from old industrial cities with thousands of acres of abandoned factories to rural villages built around derelict mines or timber mills. The National Brownfields Conference is the largest, most comprehensive conference focused on cleaning up and redeveloping these abandoned, underutilized, and potentially contaminated properties. One way the conference will try to engage participants in buying and selling properties is through the Economic Redevelopment Forum.

 In years past, this portion of the conference focused primarily on providing property owners, redevelopment agencies, and communities an opportunity to market their contaminated properties directly to the real estate development industry. However, Brownfields 2011 will take place amid one of the most challenging economies and difficult environments for commercial and residential development in recent times. With that in mind, the Economic Redevelopment Forum will also focus on the new importance of government financial incentives geared to spur economic development and get projects funded when traditional loans and sources of equity are hard to find. The “State and Local Economic Redevelopment Marketplace” within the forum will feature properties and funding opportunities clustered by state or major metro area with property owners marketing their sites right alongside representatives of state and local agencies that can inform developers of potential financial incentives that are available for the sites in their communities.

In this way, the property owners and the communities will be working together not just to market a property but also to market a project and a suite of incentives that each state and locality provides. Representatives capable of discussing economic redevelopment with a developer, investor, or end user will be there from a variety of governmental departments and agencies including state voluntary cleanup programs, state and local government economic development offices, and private sector support organizations such as regional chambers of commerce, utilities, etc. With the great variety of programs throughout the country, this will provide ample opportunities for developers, investors, and end users to learn about these programs where they traditionally focus and also where they might want to go next.

The Economic Redevelopment Forum will also include presentations and consultation opportunities during the five-hour event. Consultations will be available at the “Industrial Reuse Center” area of the forum for communities looking to keep their vacant industrial properties in industrial usage.

For more information regarding the Economic Redevelopment Forum, contact Danielle Goodwin at 202/962-3590 or dgoodwin@icma.org. To showcase a property or be involved in the forum contact Matthew Brener at matthew@njbrownfield.com.