EJQ3 - Winter 2025 - Journal - Page 32
“Brown昀椀eldredevelopmentisawin-winsituationthat
increasesrevenuetomunicipalitieswhilebene昀椀tingthe
environmentandimprovingqualityoflife.”
career growth. The designation helped enhance my work in lending
and reviewing companies’ business plans of all sizes and industries.
Working with businesses in both the public and private sector has
provided me with the understanding that unless the project makes
昀椀nancial sense, it will not proceed. This is true in any development
project but especially brown昀椀eld projects.
When did you become involved in brown昀椀eld redevelopment
initiatives?
When I was 昀椀rst hired in economic development at the city, after
a year as a senior business development consultant, I was asked if
I would also take on the brown昀椀eld portfolio and its programs. I
agreed but was naturally a little nervous because I did not have the
scienti昀椀c training and knowledge of contamination and remediation
issues. However, I always enjoy challenges and continuous learning.
My business background and experience in 昀椀nancing development
projects was bene昀椀cial to understanding the 昀椀nancial and business
side of the project. I learned to appreciate how important brown昀椀eld
redevelopment is as a sustainable use of scarce land.
Our role in economic development is to assist in the retention and
expansion of companies and attraction of new investment into
the city. Availability of land is a key element of our work. While
green昀椀eld land availability is a tool for many economic development
organizations, brown昀椀eld redevelopment is a sustainable option that
E N V I RON M E N T J OURN A L QUA RT E RLY RE PORT • W I N T ER 2 02 5 • P AG E 3 2
