Intro Brownfields Finance Course

-Overview

The Intro Brownfields Finance Course is the industry’s only comprehensive training curriculum that helps economic developers, policy makers and real estate professionals understand and master the financing strategies for the lifecycle of a brownfield property. During this course, attendees will walk through the entire brownfields redevelopment process from understanding the basics of brownfields and legal and regulatory challenges to unearthing the myriad financing tools available to both clean-up and build-up these contaminated or polluted sites.

Brownfields pose both perceived and real threats to the health, safety and economic future of many communities. These sites often come with lingering legal, regulatory and site control challenges on top of the underlying environmental hurdles and can become major roadblocks to economic development. Economic developers, policy makers and real estate professional from all sizes of communities are encouraged to attend to explore the financing tools available to projects as small as a gas station clean-up to larger adaptive reuse case studies of major legacy site contamination sites.

This course will qualify for the CDFA Training Institute's Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) Program. Join us online, and start down the road to personal and professional advancement today.

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Course Objectives

Understand the basics of brownfields
Learn the history of contamination, brownfields development and redevelopment, and the clean-up movement
Examine the legal and regulatory landscape
Discuss barriers to clean-up, including financial, environmental, planning, site control, liability, etc.
Discover essential financing sources for clean-up and redevelopment, including tax credits, TIF, bonds, RLFs, and more
Evaluate the potential financing tools available and why they may or may not work
Consider build out strategies that incorporate image, community buy-in, developers, and land control
Discuss case studies from urban, suburban, rural, adaptive reuse, creative reuse, and historic developments

Topics Covered

Definitions, descriptions and terms in brownfield redevelopment
The basics and history of brownfield clean-up
Environmental, legal and regulatory barriers to clean-up and redevelopment
Clean-up financing programs, tools, resources and mechanism
Post clean-up financing methods, tools, programs and partnerships
Addressing misperceptions and image challenges
Layered financing models
Case studies – urban, suburban, rural, legacy, adaptive reuse and public-private partnerships

Who Should Attend?

Bond issuers
Economic development professionals
Community development professionals
Elected officials
Government and nonprofit finance officers
Corporate trustees
Legal counsel
Underwriters
Commercial bankers
Accountants
Financial advisors
Policy makers

Course Advisor

Ariel Miller
Council of Development Finance Agencies
Manager, Research & Technical Assistance

Ariel Miller is a Research & Technical Assistance Manager with the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA). Her work is primarily focused on the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded initiative “Defining the Food System Asset Class,” through which... (More)

-Agenda

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Monday, August 10, 2020

Mon 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM	Welcome & Overview This will be a brief welcome to participants with our course advisor providing a brief introduction to the course.
Mon 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM	Brownfields 101 At the start of the Intro Brownfields Finance Course, we will introduce basic terms, political history, and established process for cleanup and redevelopment. With an estimated 500,000+ brownfields sites in the United States, nearly every state and communities of all sizes have been affected. This session will outline some of the important economic impacts and market factors of brownfields, and introduce the steps that government and industry have taken to address clean-up and establish environmental controls. This opening session will also examine trends in brownfields redevelopment including transit oriented development, solid waste, brightfields and other forms of adaptive reuse.
Mon 1:45 PM - 2:00 PM	Break
Mon 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM	Brownfields Legal and Regulatory Landscape Understanding the legal and regulatory environment surrounding brownfields sites is critical to seeing success in the clean-up and redevelopment phases. During this session, learn about the various environmental and tax laws governing brownfields clean-up and the role that federal, state, and local governments play in the regulatory process. We will also outline some of the most common barriers to clean-up, including financing, environmental, planning, site control, and who carries the liability.
Mon 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM	Redevelopment Process and the Partners Involved One of the most important steps in a successful brownfields redevelopment is knowing your remediation and financing strategies, and how the two inform each other. In fact, these strategies often work in tandem in order to see a project to completion. During this session, we will consider the necessary components of an effective redevelopment strategy from project assessment to completion. Topics covered include the players involved, identifying partners, and working with developers, state voluntary cleanup programs, land control, and reuse planning.
Mon 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM	Federal Funding Sources for Brownfields The final session of Day 1 will focus on the financing programs and tools available from federal agencies for brownfields clean-up and redevelopment. A variety of federal agencies including the EPA, EDA, & HUD will be on-hand to discuss their programs, explain how to use them, and help you consider which financing strategies to employ given certain types of brownfields sites. Furthermore, EPA will discuss in detail their assessment & Area-Wide Planning Grants, Cleanup & RLF capitalization funds available to communities.
Mon 5:00 PM	Adjourn

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Tue 12:00 PM - 12:15 PM	Revisiting Day One
Tue 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM	Financing Brownfields Redevelopment: Bedrock and Targeted Tools Several tools exist in the development finance toolbox for brownfields redevelopment. Through case studies, we will consider how bonds, tax increment financing, and special assessments can be applied to various brownfields redevelopment projects. This session will set the stage for the final phase of the course as we look at how these financing tools are layered to address the entire financing needs of a project’s capital stack.
Tue 1:45 PM - 2:00 PM	Break
Tue 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM	Financing Brownfields Redevelopment: Investment Tools In this session, attendees will learn about the investment tools available for catalyzing job growth, real estate development, and community revitalization through brownfields redevelopment. Presentations will cover several highly successful tax credit programs and how to effectively apply these programs to brownfield redevelopment opportunities. Case studies will be used to show how tax credits combine with other sources of capital to finance a project.
Tue 3:15 PM - 3:30 PM	Break
Tue 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM	State and Local Financing Strategies for Brownfields This session will showcase how communities across the country have financed brownfields redevelopment. Several different types of projects will be presented, including urban, suburban, and rural projects, along with creative approaches for adaptive reuse, historic developments, and more. Discussion will focus on the various state and local financing resources, how the capital was assembled, and important items to consider when layering tools given the scope of the project. This session will include a look at how Brownfield Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs) can be used to catalyze redevelopment projects of any size.
Tue 5:00 PM	Adjourn

-Location

CDFA Virtual Summer School will meet each day from 12:00-5:00 pm (Eastern) online. You must have access to a computer and phone to attend.

-Registration

This course will be offered at CDFA Virtual Summer School, a 2- week long series of courses presented by the CDFA Training Institute. Participants may register for one, two, three, or four courses during CDFA Virtual Summer School.

Scholarships are available to attend this event. Learn more about the CDFA Scholarship Program, and submit your application today.

When you register for four courses during CDFA Summer School, you will receive a $100 discount off the total registration fee.

Click the Register button to view the total fees and discounts available for CDFA Virtual Summer School.

Standard Rates

CDFA Member: $300
Non-Member: $450