Our Projects
EPA FUNDING AND FINANCING TASK ORDER
Adaapta is partnered with Tetra Tech in providing services for the EPA’s regionally-directed Funding and Financing Task Order, which provides communities with access to customized technical assistance on brownfield project financing, redevelopment economics, financial modeling, and other educational resources. Adaapta‘s staff brings applied expertise in market and economic analyses, real estate financing, pro forma development, and developing plans for phased redevelopment. Adaapta also provides a wide range of financial strategies including applying for brownfield loans, acquiring public TIF and PIF financing, conventional debt and equity, and other tax and other financial incentives. We also bring significant experience leveraging federal, state, local, and private/philanthropic redevelopment resources available to communities. Adaapta’s experts have implemented complex capital stacks including, for example, bringing together over 20 different funding sources for a large and complex brownfields redevelopment project. Adaapta is currently providing services to twelve different communities in EPA Regions 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9.
Client: US EPA, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
MARKET STUDY AND FUNDING AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS FOR SITE REUSE
Through a subcontract with Tetra Tech under EPA’s Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program, Adaapta provided funding and financing technical assistance to support the remediation and redevelopment of the historic Harlowton Roundhouse, which was once the eastern terminus of the longest stretch of electrified railroad in the US. The Market Study summarized the Roundhouse Site’s history, existing conditions (based on environmental investigations and remedial activities), and recently performed studies and plans. This report also analyzed demographics for the City of Harlowton and the surrounding community and the state of the local commercial and residential real estate market. Adaapta also provided redevelopment phasing recommendations and cost estimates, operational considerations, funding sources, and a list of detailed next steps to maximize potential future funding opportunities.
Client: City of Harlowton, MT
HIGHEST AND BEST USE ANALYSIS
Adaapta provided brownfields funding and financing technical assistance via a subcontract with Tetra Tech under EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program to assist the City of Lodi in development of an Aquatic Center and/or Mixed-Use Development on the site of the current City maintenance yard. Adaapta performed a desktop analysis of the site to determine legally permissible uses, local real estate market conditions, environmental constraints, and conducted community member and stakeholder interviews to develop a SWOT analysis. Adaapta also created four concept plans to inform financial modeling and performed high-level financial modeling to determine rough construction costs and net operating income, as well as estimates of potential returns on cost.
Client: City of Lodi, CA
FUNDING AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS FOR SITE REUSE
In partnership with the EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, Adaapta provided technical assistance to support the redesign of the McCurdy Ministries Community Center Campus in Espanola, New Mexico. Adaapta created a Sources and Uses Tracking Tool to assess funds on a quarterly basis, built an Operating Pro Forma to assess how much money was available to service future debt obligations, moderated a Funding Strategy Work Session to identify current funding gaps and brainstorm potential new sources of funds, and compiled a list of financing sources including New Market Tax Credits, solar and sustainability subsidies, and U.S. Department of Agriculture loans.
Client: McCurdy Ministries
FUNDING AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS FOR SITE REUSE
Adaapta provided brownfields funding and financing technical assistance via a subcontract with Tetra Tech under EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program to assist Stillman College in planning for the development of the Vivian Malone Jones YWCA. Adaapta created several tools to assist in decision making and to help Stillman obtain funding for development. Project deliverables included an initial building program, a construction and development budget, an initial operating pro forma, identification of applicable new market tax credits, and other conventional funding sources. A Sources and Uses document was developed to identify the remaining funding gap, and a financial modeling tool was created that combines the operating pro forma and Sources and Uses analysis to guide development with future project partners.
Client: Stillman College
SUPERFUND TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT AND RESPONSE TEAM (START)
Adaapta is partnered with Tetra Tech to provide services under the US EPA’s START program in EPA Region 8, which includes Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah. The START program provides targeted brownfields assistance to communities for brownfields redevelopment, including Phase I and Phase II investigations, emergency preparedness, community outreach, planning assistance, and other support for brownfields sites. As a partner to Tetra Tech, Adaapta provides support in preparing technical documents, exhibits, and community outreach and planning endeavors.
Client: US EPA, Region 8
MARKETING RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT
The former Contract Plating Site in Stratford, Connecticut has been home to a number of uses since it was first developed in 1918. The main operator was the Contract Plating Company, which electroplated, lacquered, and anodized various metal parts between 1936 and 1995. These activities left heavy metal contamination, arsenic, and other contaminants on-site.
The Town of Stratford acquired the Site in 2013 and has made significant progress in preparing the Property for redevelopment, including demolishing existing buildings and initiating cleanup. In Spring 2020, Adaapta was enlisted to prepare a market analysis of the Stratford area and provide guidance in how the Town should begin marketing the Site to potential purchasers. The Adaapta team used a number of resources to complete this project remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a number of ESRI-generated profiles of Stratford demographics and the local market, a Cushman & Wakefield market report, Zillow, and conversations with local realtors and brokers. This report will be used by the Town to obtain further funding for remediation, with the ultimate goal of attracting a buyer and paving the way for successful redevelopment.
Client: Town of Stratford, CT
SITE REUSE RECOMMENDATIONS
Adaapta is currently working on a Site Reuse Recommendations package for the Village of Ilion, New York for the former Duofold Factory site. The Site has a long industrial legacy, but has been vacant since 2001. It was purchased by the Village of Ilion in 2019.
This five-part recommendations report provides input on the next steps for site investigations and suggested remedial strategies; a preliminary yield study that can be used to market the site to potential developers; an interactive financial model that can be used to analyze various redevelopment scenarios and assumptions; a marketing recommendations report; and a section on similar redevelopment projects throughout the country that provide lessons learned and best practices as the Village moves forward with cleanup and marketing of the Site.
Client: Village of Ilion, NY and Herkimer County, NY
BROWNFIELDS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: AN OVERVIEW OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Authored by Mary Hashem and Kate Lucas under contract to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), this white paper provides an overview of the benefits, challenges and best practices of brownfield redevelopment for local governments. The paper provides information about financial and non-financial incentives to attract developers, the extent to which brownfield redevelopment can spur economic development, and how local governments globally are implementing brownfield programs.
Client: International City/County Management Association (ICMA)
INFOGRAPHICS
Adaapta has prepared multiple infographics and illustrative renderings in support of KSU webinars and online trainings. These deliverables are made publicly available and can be used as quick reference guides to a variety of brownfields-related topics.
Client: KSU TAB
KALISPELL DOWNTOWN PLAN
The City of Kalispell, Montana, is located just outside the boundaries of Glacier National Park, and is both a tourist destination and a regional economic hub. The City completed a Downtown Plan in 2017 with the support of an Area-Wide Planning Grant from the EPA and a TIGER Grant from the DOT. As a TAB partner, Adaapta provided recommendations to the City of Kalispell on implementation of the downtown plan, advice on marketing multiple brownfields sites, and provided support in the City’s RFQ process for a consultant to turn the concepts into a bid.
Client: City of Kalispell, MT
NORTH TULSA AREA-WIDE PLAN
Tulsa was selected by EPA as one of 23 cities to pilot a brownfield grant focused on area-wide concerns rather than individual sites. At a previous company, Mary Hashem led a team of staff and sub-consultants that was selected by the City of Tulsa to perform work under its North Tulsa Area-Wide Planning (AWP) Grant. The work involved creating a brownfield property inventory of the study area; prioritizing properties and identifying six catalytic Key Sites; completing a SWOT analysis; identifying redevelopment alternatives for the Key Sites; and developing a “Playbook” to guide the City in implementing similar brownfield area-wide planning projects in other parts of Tulsa. As part of the North Tulsa AWP work, Mary and planning staff under her direction convened and led six (6) public meetings at various stages of the project to obtain community input that informed the findings and recommendations. In addition, she initiated the formation of a Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC), comprised of key business owners and community leaders, as part of the project work. The NAC provided high-level input and served as a liaison between the community and the project team throughout the term of the project.
Client: City of Tulsa, OK
ACME POWER PLANT VISIONING WORKSHOP
Located near the banks of the Tongue River outside of Sheridan, Wyoming, the Acme Power Plant was completed in 1910, and provided power to the local mines, coal camps, and the City of Sheridan until the late 1970s. Since then, it has been the site of several different industrial uses, including auto dismantling and battery disposal. The site was purchased in June 2017 by the Sheridan County Conservation District (SCCD).
As a provider through KSU TAB, Adaapta partnered with the SCCD team to plan and host a community visioning session for the Acme Power Plant Reclamation project in August 2017. The workshop was attended by over 60 community members and local stakeholders. Through the use of a SWOT analysis, participants determined three priorities for the site reuse, identified a list of stakeholders who could bring the project to completion, and produced over 20 potential ideas for reuse. As a meeting participant and TAB provider, Adaapta created a post-workshop report, which provided a short site history, summarized the outcomes of the community’s discussions, and provided recommendations for the project going forward. The site is currently undergoing further environmental investigations in preparation for redevelopment.
Client: Sheridan County Conservation District (SCCD)
REDEVELOPMENT RESOURCES AND PARTNERING
Adaapta participated in the Redevelopment Resources & Partnering training workshop sponsored by the Panhandle Area Development District (PADD), the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ), the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ), and the KSU TAB program. Adaapta’s role was to present the Private Developer’s Perspective on brownfields redevelopment, including planning, land use decisions, highest and best use analysis, market and community considerations in development decisions, and sources of financing for contaminated property transactions.
Client: City of Scottsbluff, NE