In 2005, the Fanning Institute at UGA initiated a brownfield remediation outreach project. Its goal was to inform local leaders in business and government about the benefits of redeveloping land that had been contaminated by a previous industrial or commercial use. If local leaders are aware of these potential benefits, then there will be a better comparison with redevelopment costs, and more redevelopment projects may be undertaken.

The potential benefits are wide and varied. For example, the reuse of a brownfield reduces the development pressure on agricultural and forest lands. The resulting pattern of development may reduce traffic congestion and fuel use.

We decided to concentrate on the main benefit component: the rebound of neighborhood property prices. It has been demonstrated that the presence of a hazardous waste site depresses a neighborhood's property prices, as far as one mile away (Ihlanfeldt and Taylor, JEEM, 2004). Our work in Savannah demonstrates that property prices can recover after the hazard is removed.

Our study site was the Paulsen Street electrical substation in Savannah. This site had PCB contamination from leaking electrical transformers. Newspaper archives reveal that the site was cleaned up in 1997, and it is now a fenced-in vacant lot. Therefore, while the hazardous nature of the site has ended, the site is may still be regarded as an eyesore. Our task was then to gauge how the real estate market reacted to this change in the site's status.

We obtained data describing property sales for all of the properties running one mile north and south on Paulsen St., plus the properties east and west on 32nd St. The data set was divided into two groups, with the 'Before' group composed of 309 properties that sold prior to 1997, and the 'After' group of 236 properties that sold after delisting. These properties formed the basis of the information presented here.

In order to calculate a property price for a house in this neighborhood, you must indicate your house's characteristics. For each characteristic, select the category that most closely corresponds to your house. After indicating all of the characteristics, click the "Submit" button. Click on "Reset Form" to start another query.   If you have questions or problems please contact me, Dr. Warren Kriesel, wkriesel@agecon.uga.edu, (706)542-0748.

This work was funded by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

 

Step 1: Distance from the Substation 0 to 500 ft               500 to 1000 ft 1,000 to 2,000 ft     2,000 to 3,000 ft 3,000 to 4,000 ft     4,000 and beyond        Step 2: Square Footage of Heated Area         Less than 1,000 ft         1,000 to 1,250         1,250 to 1,500             1,500 to 2,000         2,000 to 2,500            More than 2,500 ft Step 3: Number of Bedrooms One               Two Three     More than Three        Step 4: Number of Fireplaces         None         One         Two             More than Two Step 5: Brick or Stone Exterior? Yes No        Step 6: Type of Use         Single Family Residence         Multi-family Residence Step 7:

Links to other Brownfield-related websites:
USEPA Decision Support Tools
Revitalization Decision Support Tool (SMARTe)

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