TerraSure’s Guaranteed
Fixed-Price Remediation Enabled Developers to Turn Boston Neighborhood
into Model of Urban Rejuvenation
April 12, 2005/Newton, Mass.: TerraSure
Development LLC, an international firm that specializes in
delivering risk-free real estate remediation to owners, buyers,
and sellers of environmentally-impaired real estate, successfully
completed the site remediation associated with Phase One development
for Crosstown Center Development in Boston, Mass. TerraSure’s
guaranteed fixed-price remediation (GFPR) services facilitate
the purchase and sale of environmentally-impaired property.
The firm’s GFPR services enabled developers to rejuvenate
and generate significant economic growth for this six-acre
site, which is located in one of the country’s largest
Empowerment Zones. Historically, several lead manufacturing
companies and gasoline stations occupied the site, and investigations
uncovered widespread subsurface contamination. The economic
viability of this project was dependent on, among other factors,
the overall cost of the remediation. Before TerraSure became
involved, the remediation was not quantified or capped.
“From an investor perspective, this site was far more
attractive with TerraSure’s involvement,” said
Toby Yarmolinsky, managing director of RBC Dain Rauscher, one
of the country’s largest full-service securities firms. “A
number of the bond purchasers took comfort in the assurance
that the environmental liabilities were covered.”
TerraSure’s innovative approach to characterizing the
site conditions allowed the firm to quantify the volume and
nature of the impacted soils to be remediated. The comprehensive
site investigation was completed within three months and at
a cost $100,000 less than the initial estimate.
The firm submitted a fixed price to achieve regulatory closure
well before the closing for Phase One development. In addition
to this price being significantly lower than estimated by a
large insurer, TerraSure’s price included insurance to
protect the developer and its private and public investors
from third-party claims, regulatory re-openers, and undiscovered
contamination. Site remediation was then implemented through
a Release Abatement Plan, which outlined the procedures to
remove the abandoned underground storage tanks and contaminant
hot spots.
In comparison to the conventional approach, TerraSure’s
remediation strategy resulted in site closure in one-third
the time, at a significantly lower cost, and provided both
protection from cost overruns and insurance against long-term
environmental liabilities.
Today, the Crosstown Center Development consists of a 175-room
hotel, 21,000 square feet of retail, and a 650-space parking
garage. Phase Two development will include a 28,000-square
foot office building, 30,000 square feet of retail, and 600
additional garage parking spaces. Employment estimates for
the development are approximately 1,000 permanent jobs and
nearly 250 construction jobs.
The Crosstown Center Development was awarded the “Brownfield
Project of the Year” by the Environmental Business Council
of New England in 2003.
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