Managing Environmental Risks when Redeveloping Brownfield Sites

Photo by Danny Smith

Chris Alviggi, Vice President of Alliant Insurance Services in New York City, travelled all the way to Alabama with his son to experience some SEC football this weekend at the Alabama-LSU game. I am pleased that he decided to drop by our home this morning to enjoy a southern breakfast before the game that included Alabama’s famous Conecuh sausage and cheese grits. We had an opportunity to catch up and discuss his expertise – environmental risk management strategies.

I have known Chris for many years. He has clients worldwide and an ability to make property developments happen through innovative insurance strategies notwithstanding known or potential environmental liabilities. Chris has played a role in the redevelopment of manufactured gas plants and other brownfield sites around the country where property owners and prospective buyers were cautious because of potential liabilities.

Abandoned manufactured gas plant sites and other industrial brownfield properties are often located in blighted areas of cities within neighborhoods that could be characterized as Environmental Justice communities. Many of these properties could be redeveloped and used in creative ways to provide jobs and restore these areas; nonetheless, the companies owning these sites often prefer to simply sit-tight on these fenced-off properties fearing that any redevelopment might expose them to expensive site clean-up costs. These properties sit idle while the status quo is maintained in the surrounding community and potential site developers are turned away. Some might say it is about maintaining some sort of control over the site and “kicking the can down the road” for someone else to deal with later while leaving valuable property idle and communities disadvantaged. Corporate citizenship warrants consideration of community needs and the legitimate consideration of site redevelopment opportunities. That is a more sustainable approach to business. Nothing ventured - nothing gained.

There are creative ways to address brownfield site risks through innovative insurance strategies. Let’s explore ways to redevelop your brownfield sites.

Primarium can help.