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Environmental Developer Reforms Brownfields Into Valuable Real Estate

Environmental Developer Reforms Brownfields Into Valuable Real Estate

WESTPORT, Conn. – Catalyst Development Partners has successfully transformed three brownfield sites in New Jersey into land coveted by real estate developers that have increased jobs and eliminate environmental concerns. Currently, the company seeks more brownfield projects to remediate.

Catalyst redeveloped three underutilized, blighted and often environmentally impaired industrial and commercial properties in New Jersey: the former Gerdau Ameristeel plant in Perth Amboy, the former Griffin Pipe Foundry in Florence, and the former Matheson Tri-Gas property near the Meadowlands. During the process, the company acquired, remediated and repositioned the property that was contaminated. The three projects produced more than 2.5 million square feet of new big box modern industrial warehousing and logistics centers. More than 1,100 new permanent jobs were created, and provide more than $3 million in annual tax revenues for the municipalities and state.

Once remediated, the Gerdau Ameristeel 92-acre waterfront redevelopment site was sold to Duke Realty Corp. to build a warehouse for Home Depot, which is part of the hardware store’s previously announced $1.2 billion supply-chain overhaul. Catalyst’s remediation agreement allows the city to receive $6.4 million in new public amenities. The second property turned into two new modern industrial warehouses totaling 1.1 million square feet. In addition to the remediation of an environmentally contaminated property, job creation and new tax revenues, the redevelopment plan calls for 22 acres of ball fields and recreational facilities, 10 acres of woodlands and land for the future expansion of the Florence Township Wastewater Treatment Plant. The redevelopment will also provide access to the Delaware River waterfront. The third property is a rare infill industrial space within close proximity to New York. The development will have 130,000 square feet building with more than 200 new employees on a site elevated above increasing flood elevations.

“Catalyst works closely with regulatory agencies and sees the development of a remedial strategy as a team effort among the developer, the governing agencies and the local community,” said Stephen Parnes, one of the partners. “We believe that brownfield remediation is important for the economic and environmental well-being of communities.”

For more information about the projects, visit www.catalyst-dp.com.