|
Acquisition & Redevelopment of the Former Pacific Refinery
Victoria by the Bay
Hercules, California
The acquisition, remediation and redevelopment of the former Pacific Refinery in Hercules,
California
ranks as one of the most successful residential redevelopments of a Brownfield property in the
United States
. The property, located north of
Berkeley
on the eastern shore of
San Pablo
Bay
, was purchased from a subsidiary of the Coastal Petroleum Company in September 1997 by a joint venture of LandBank, Inc. and Catellus Development Corporation. The property, which covers 219 acres, was formerly operated as a 55,000-barrel per day oil refinery and, until just prior to purchase, as an asphalt refinery and terminal.
Mr. Stuart Miner, a founding partner of both LandBank and of Brownfield Partners, LLC, led the Team that performed all the due diligence and completed the acquisition of the property. Subsequent to close, the LandBank/Catellus joint venture assumed full responsibility for demolition, cleanup and redevelopment of the property. Ms. Mary Hashem, a founding partner of Brownfield Partners, LLC and a former LandBank executive, was responsible for management and oversight of regulatory compliance at the property from the time of purchase until it was fully demolished. Ms. Hashem also was responsible for all of the former refinery's environmental permits until they were retired, at which time, preliminary grading and site development work commenced.
Cleanup of soil and groundwater to residential standards was carried out under the authority of the San Francisco Regional Waster Quality Control Board. Environmental remediation proceeded concurrently with preliminary site development work, which included site grading, rough-in of roads, and installation of utilities. The total cost to manage the site post-acquisition, demolish the refinery structures, remediate the environmental conditions and complete the preliminary site work was in excess of $40 million.
The property was entitled for over 800 residential units, an elementary school, and a small neighborhood commercial center. Work was completed on the site to the level of "blue stake" lots, which were sold to merchant home builders. At the end of 2003, the site was largely built out, with the most expensive homes in the top-end neighborhood having sold for in excess of $1 million.
Useful Links
|
|
|
