Available brownfield properties now listed online

Times Leader Staff

The state departments of Environmental Protection and Community and Economic Development have partnered with the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association and the Team Pennsylvania Foundation to create an online, interactive database of available brownfield properties across the state.

Brownfields are former industrial sites at which environmental concerns may exist. The cleanup and redevelopment of these sites not only improves the environment and protects public health and safety, but also allows vacant and abandoned properties to be returned to the tax rolls, benefiting the community.

The commonwealth will present its most marketable brownfield properties to a national audience of redevelopment agencies, real estate developers and property owners at the Economic Redevelopment Forum. The forum will be held in conjunction with the national Brownfields 2011 Conference, which is planned from April 3-5 in Philadelphia.

More than 6,000 representatives from local, state, and federal agencies; nonprofit and community groups; private sector; and academia are expected to attend the national conference.

Property owners are encouraged to submit information on their own through www.pasitesearch.com. Team PA will be available for support and technical assistance. When submitting information, it is important that all data points requested are included – including specifications, utility information, and high-quality photographs.

A brownfield property entered into the PA SiteSearch database will remain listed on PA SiteSearch beyond the conference for as long as the user wishes to keep it active.

For more information about how to make sure your properties are included in the inventory, visit Team Pennsylvania’s website at www.teampa.com/brownfields.