Final Thoughts

Harold J. Rafson

This is a very exciting time in the saga of brownfields redevelopment. We believe that we have bottomed out, and that the redevelopment curve is now clearly on the upswing. We are beyond the time when liabilities and unrealistic remediation standards virtually stopped redevelopment. There is a long way to go, and this is a period when experimentation and change are required. We would like to comment on some issues discussed in this book, and on some peripheral issues as well.

After having read the seller s concerns in Chap. 3, it is clear that there are major issues still to be resolved. There are beginnings toward those solutions. Insurance is one such solution, but the coverage and cost of such insurance vehicles are still to evolve. The atmosphere of distrust between insured and insurer must also be overcome. Another approach is joint ventures between the seller and developer, engineer, or contractors.

In Chap. 3, reference is made to sleeping dogs that are not really asleep. In the coming years, those dogs (liabilities, financial recognition of liabilities, and costs of cleanups) will have to be dealt with. Only when this is done will there be great progress toward resolving brownfields issues nationally.

As has been made clear from the historical and other sections, brownfields are just a part of the cost of urban blight, suburban sprawl,...