Traffic may jam your next development project

Commercial real estate development is a complex business and in order for your project to be successful, you need to ensure that all the preparatory work is completed before you begin.

You need to have the conceptual idea, and the plans that will implement that concept. You also need your finances in order, whether self-financed, via bank loans or other forms of investment. And of course, you need to have the contractors who can manage the project as moves from the planning on paper or CAD to concrete reality. 

But you may have more homework than simply the project itself. In the case of a redevelopment of a landfill in Beverly, the developer has to obtain a special permit from the Planning Board, and in the process of obtaining this permit, they found a controversy over the potential impact of the project on the local community.

As with many seemingly straightforward projects, which would include an office building, a restaurant, bank, other retail and a Whole Foods Market, the location and potential effects the project will have, have become issues.

Local residents are concerned with excavations of the old landfill site. In the “good old days,” items that now would be considered hazardous waste were dumped into dumps.

Depending on what may have been placed in a landfill, real estate development on a “brownfield” could require everything from an environmental impact analysis to environmental remediation before a project can move forward.

For many commercial real estate development projects, another concern, and one that is present in this case, is the effect of the completed project on local traffic. Residents or existing businesses may be concerned that too much congestion could damage their business or their quality of life.

When you discuss the due diligence necessary before embarking on a project with your development team, including your attorneys, architects, bankers and real estate professionals, should examine all of the relevant issues that could impact your project.

Salemnews.com, “Beverly board still mulling Whole Foods plaza permit,” Paul Leighton, November 19, 2014