|
Hull || Project/Resources || Current Projects
Dam Improvements Increase Fish Population
As part of our "Giving Back Program",
Hull assisted the Boy Scouts of America in Toledo, Ohio with
an improvement project for Lake Sawyer at Camp Miakonda in
Sylvania Township, Ohio. The site is located in a relatively
urban area adjacent to the Ottawa River. The area was created
by an oxbow lake that was historically used by the camp for
recreational purposes.
The work included assistance with a low head dam removal
that was funded by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant.
The objective in the dam removal was to increase fish movements
within the area of the river. Hull's dam removal activities
included:
- Sampling the sediment behind the dam;
- Performing a wetland delineation;
- Developing plans to improve wetlands;
- Working with the regulatory agencies to obtain 404 and
401 permits as required as a member of the Properties Committee
for Camp Miakonda;
- Performing construction of educational trails and a boardwalk;
- Dredging of the sediment behind the dam to improve ecological
and biological habitat;
- Developing construction plans for implementation of the
improvements; and
- Being involved with securing grants for the work.
In addition to an increasing population of the fish within
the lake, the dam removal has also increased educational opportunities
for the camp and the community.
For more information, please contact Doug Evans, PE in our
Dublin office at 614.793.8777 or devans@hullinc.com.
Hull Identifies Potential Redevelopment
Targets for Growing Logistics Market
|
|
|
New Development at Duke Realty Corporation's
Chesapeake Commerce Center in Baltimore, Maryland
|
Hull is working with Duke Realty Corporation
(Duke) to aid in redevelopment of two former GM assembly plants
located in Baltimore, MD and Linden, NJ. Duke selected Hull
to represent its interests in the assessment of environmental
liability and development of remedial strategies and cost
estimates associated with these former manufacturing locations.
The Baltimore and Linden facilities housed GM automobile
assembly operations for more than 70 years until their recent
shut-down. Each facility is located on 100 (+) acre sites
with more than 2.5 million square feet of manufacturing space
under roof. Hull assisted Duke in identifying these properties
as potential redevelopment targets for its growing logistics
market. As a part of a cost benefit and acquisition analysis
exercise, Hull provided risk evaluation and cost estimating
services associated with potential costs that could ultimately
be incurred during remediation and redevelopment of the Site.
These liability assessment services included, but were not
limited to:
- Thorough review of environmental documentation provided
by GM;
- Preparation of an environmental and redevelopment constraints
map and data gap report;
- Development of a demolition and environmental remediation
strategy consistent with Duke's redevelopment plan;
- Performance of a probabilistic cost estimate considering
information learned; and
- Assistance in developing an environmental insurance model
and cost estimates.
Following Duke's acquisition of the sites, the team's priorities
were to manage risk, streamline the cleanup process, demolish
the structures quickly, and maintain GM's land use restrictions
for the property, while at the same time, ensuring a collaborative
approach with state and federal regulatory authorities. Hull
provided administrative and management services associated
with implementation of the remediation strategies, including
administration of a competitive bidding process for hazardous
residuals abatement and facilities demolition, and assistance
in identification and selection of local technical and service
providers. Due in no small part to the successes realized
on these two projects, Hull continues to work with Duke in
identifying other potential redevelopment opportunities that
meet the strategic plan and objectives of the company.
For more information, please contact John Keil in our Toledo
office at 419.385.2018 or jkeil@hullinc.com.
A Thriving Wetland Despite Ongoing Pollutant
Inputs
Hull partnered with the City of Tiffin to negotiate a responsible
site assessment and corrective measures strategy at a pre-1976
closed landfill owned by the City, in response to Clean Water
Act violations issued by Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). The water quality violations included exceedances of
surface water chemical criteria in landfill-related discharges
to a wetland located off-site, which required a permit under
the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
Hull negotiated an innovative corrective measures strategy
that featured alternative criteria for surface water discharges
to wetlands. Under Ohio rules, in lieu of chemical discharge
criteria developed specifically for wetlands, the most protective
stream water quality standards are applicable to NPDES discharges
to wetlands (Outside Mixing Zone Average). However, Ohio rules
allow a discharger to propose higher discharge limits to wetlands,
based on the well-established fact that wetlands have considerably
higher pollutant assimilative capacity than streams.
Hull wrote a work plan for development of alternative wetland
criteria for the site which has been incorporated into the
Corrective Measures Plan and NPDES permit for the landfill
(both pending approval).
When approved, the alternative wetland criteria work plan
will be the first such plan approved in Ohio. Ongoing detailed
ecological monitoring of the wetland strongly suggests that
the wetland is thriving in spite of ongoing pollutant inputs.
Assuming that the wetland can be shown not to have been degraded
by surface and groundwater discharges from the landfill, the
current pollutant concentrations in the discharges will become
the site-specific applicable discharge criteria for the off-site
wetland. This approach to addressing the water quality violations,
if ultimately successful, will preclude the need for pumping
and hauling groundwater to a wastewater treatment or construction
and maintenance of an on-site treatment facility.
For more information, please contact Hugh Crowell in our Dublin
office at 614.793.8777 or hcrowell@hullinc.com.
Duke Realty Corporation Expands Development
Opportunities on East Coast
In December 2007, Duke Realty Corporation (Duke) acquired
the former General Motors (GM) Linden Assembly Plant in Linden,
New Jersey, and is currently working with Hull & Associates,
Inc. (Hull) to demolish the facility and remediate the site
to make way for future mixed-use retail and industrial development.
This is Duke's second major brownfield redevelopment project
on the East Coast; the company acquired the former GM Baltimore
Assembly Plant in 2006 and is currently in the process of
redeveloping the site for commercial and industrial uses.
The 104-acre Linden site is located at 1016 West Edgar Road
in a mostly industrial area of the city and in close proximity
to Port Newark and the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal,
the second largest container port in the United States. With
more than 2.7 million square feet of buildings onsite, Hull
assisted Duke in developing bid specifications for clearing
the site and is currently serving as the onsite representative
providing oversight of demolition activities. Testa Corporation
began demolition in February 2008 and is expected to complete
all demolition activities in early 2009.
Hull is also coordinating environmental activities at the
site as part of the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection's (NJDEP) Site Remediation Program (SRP) and the
Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA), and in conjunction with
RCRA Corrective Action activities as administered by U.S.
EPA Region 2. Hull is designing the assessment activities
and ultimate remedial approach to incorporate redevelopment
tools such as engineering controls to cost-effectively remediate
the site while maintaining protection of human health and
the environment.
The site was home to GM automobile assembly operations from
1937 to 2005, with workers producing nearly 9 million vehicles
during its 68-year history, including Buicks, Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles,
Pontiacs, the Chevrolet Blazer and the GMC Jimmy. During World
War II, the plant was re-engineered to produce Grumman Wildcat
fighter planes before automobile production resumed in 1946.
During this time, the plant employed large numbers of local
women who fondly became known as "Rosie the Riveters."
Based on anticipated schedules, it is expected that portions
of the property will be ready for mixed-use retail and some
industrial development in fall of 2008, with the balance of
the industrial redevelopment ready for construction in late
fall 2009.
For more information regarding Linden Assemby Plant, please
contact Bill Dennis or Tim Acri in our Mason office at (513)
459-9677 or bdennis@hullinc.com
or tacri@hullinc.com.
Harvard University
Completes Case Study of Lakeview Bluffs Redevelopment
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.
Upcoming 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 currently preparing to conduct an additional case
study of Lakeview Bluffs specifically focused on risk communication.
Work on this study is expected to begin in early 2008. Click
here
to view a copy of the recently-released 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 recent 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 at 614.793.8777 or ckasper@hullinc.com,
or Bill Rish at 614.793.8777 or wrish@hullinc.com.
For more information on Hull's Urban Revitalization Practice
and value added strategies for redevelopment projects, contact
Practice Leader Eric Wilburn at 440.519.2555 or
ewilburn@hullinc.com.
|