- President Bill Clinton, August 30, 1999
- In a letter following his review of CANDO's Brownfield Initiative

Contact for CANDO's Brownfield Initiative:
Rob May, Director of Industrial Development
312-372-2636 x. 232

The scars of our industrial past are slow to heal. Within Cook County and the City of Chicago, there are over 2,000 unused or underused industrial and commercial sites adding to the landscape of urban blight. The fear of environmental contamination has added to the risk of redevelopment, and most of these sites remain untested, unremediated, and unused for anything productive. In the meantime, Chicago's suburbs and exurbs are experiencing tremendous and unchecked growth in terms of land-use.

CANDO, with our Brownfields Initiative, addresses issues related to sprawl, particularly infill, and redevelopment of the inner city. We market brownfields as an alternative to greenfield development, while also attracting businesses back to city neighborhoods, where jobs are desperately needed. Brownfield redevelopment is a solution to issues of environmental contamination, environmental justice, and gridlock caused by environmental litigation.

CANDO's Brownfield Initiative offers residents and nonprofit community groups the technical skills to understand the complex real estate and environmental issues brownfields pose, and to identify opportunities for their remediation and redevelopment. The Initiative's two components:

1. The Brownfield Redevelopment Institute - six course sections cover topics such as site identification, the brownfield regulatory process, Phase One and Phase Two environmental testing, and real estate market analysis. More about the Institute
   
   
2. The Brownfield Predevelopment Initiative - The Predevelopment Initiative builds the organizational capacity of non-profit groups to play key roles in identifying, remediating, and redeveloping brownfields in their communities. CANDO and a team of dedicated professionals are working with community-based organizations to produce market analysis, conduct Phase I environmental assessments, and Phase II testing. More about the Predevelopment Initiative

   To find out more about CANDO's Brownfields Initiative, please contact Rob May, Director of Industrial Development, at 312-372-2636 x. 232