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Lakeview Bluffs. It's one of the most creative brownfield redevelopment projects in the country underway today and it has been more than 30 years in the making. After nearly 10 years of negotiations, careful planning, risk assessment, and remediation, this 1,100-acre former home of the Diamond Shamrock Painesville Works, located on Lake Erie, is beginning to bear fruit - literally.

Contractors place armor stone to protect the Lake Erie shoreline from erosion.

It was during a tour of the 1-acre test vineyard in April 2007 with visiting scholars from Harvard University that the foundation for a formal case study of this dynamic redevelopment project really gained momentum. Building upon a guest lecturing opportunity at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design during the Brownfields 2006 Conference in Boston, Hull CEO Craig A. Kasper and Todd Davis, CEO of Hemisphere Development LLC, agreed to meet with professors and doctoral candidates from Harvard to provide the extensive background needed to complete the study.

"The Harvard University Graduate School of Design is world-renowned and extremely well-respected for its technical, social and political research associated with design and development projects," said Kasper. "To forge an educational and research relationship with Harvard, particularly for this project, is an incredible opportunity and we are extremely proud to have been selected for this study."

Doctor of Design candidate Andreas Georgoulias completed the case study in October 2007 under the supervision of School of Design professor Spiro N. Pollalis. The study itself has not only become a basis for class discussion at Harvard, it is drawing national attention from across the brownfield industry.

"The Lakeview Bluffs project was important for us in creating a case study aiming at the understanding of the intricate and complex processes of assessing, sharing, and managing risk," said Georgoulias. "Issues such as new identity creation and constraint-based design, together with the innovative collaboration of the engineering firm Hull and the developer Hemisphere, are some of the important lessons we learn from this case."

The 39-page study provides a comprehensive look at the historic operations on the property, the "mothballed" and underutilized condition of the site following the cessation of operations in 1976, the emergence of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980 and the 20 years of environmental litigation that followed, the redevelopment proposal for the site and the creative deal structure it took to make it happen, partnering with IMG to formulate the master development concept plan for the project, and the years of environmental assessment and remediation required to make Lakeview Bluffs a reality.

Stream restoration work is improving the Grand River Corridor.

Today, remedial and construction work is well underway at Lakeview Bluffs, including the construction of more than 1.2 miles of shoreline revetment along Lake Erie as part of the creation of a lakefront beach and park; the construction of an 18-hole golf course, golf academy and clubhouse; and the restoration of extensive streambank area along the Grand River. Construction projects include expansion of the vineyard; the development of The Bluffs golf residential community, winery and trout club facilities; the Lakefront Town Center and Lakeview Bluffs Resort Village, hotel and sports academy complex; and additional residential communities south of the Grand River.

Harvard is preparing to conduct an additional case study of Lakeview Bluffs specifically focused on risk communication. Click here to view a copy of the study.

"We were very satisfied with our collaboration with all the firms involved in this project and we look forward in future case studies that address critical educational and industry issues," said Georgoulias.

Hull continues to participate in guest lecturing opportunities with the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, including a presentation in November 2007. Using Lakeview Bluffs as a case in point, this specific presentation focused on the technical, financial, and reputation risks that various stakeholders take in redevelopment projects and featured presentations by Kasper, Georgoulias and John Beauchamp, a senior vice president with XL Insurance.

For more information on the Harvard case study, contact Craig A. Kasper, PE at (614) 793-8777 or ckasper@hullinc.com, or Bill Rish, Ph.D at (614) 793-8777 or wrish@hullinc.com. For more information on Hull's Brownfields Market and value added strategies for redevelopment projects, contact Brad White at (513) 459.9677or bwhite@hullinc.com.