Contributing Writer | 9/24/2008

BROWNFIELDS

Emerging Successes

Consider properties designated as Brownfields, for example. The potential of these abandoned or underused commercial and industrial sites can easily be overlooked. But Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TB&W) was willing to take a chance. The 6.5-acre property that is now the global headquarters site for one of the country’s leading wholesale mortgage lenders is located in Ocala’s historic Magnolia District.

Brownfield Incentives: According to Enterprise Florida, the state’s private-public partnership for economic development, Brownfields in Florida are some of the easiest such properties in the nation to remediate because the severity of environmental degradation/ contamination here is much lower than in many other U.S. states. Businesses that elect to clean up and redevelop existing Brownfield sites are provided with generous financial incentives, regulatory benefits, technical assistance and liability protection. A few of the advantages include: » $2,500 Job Bonus Refund for each new job created by an eligible business » Highly attractive business locations with existing infrastructure » Voluntary cleanup tax credits » Cleanup liability protection » Low-interest loans for assessment and cleanup » Increased State Loan Guarantee which can improve lending opportunities » Expedited permitting And since many Brownfield properties are located within Urban Enterprise Zones, additional financial incentives may be available.

Vacant for more than a decade, the property was much more than an eyesore. Its windowless buildings were piled with broken-down machinery, rusting meat hooks and miles of ancient piping draped with deteriorating asbestos insulation.

Outside, 55-gallon drums of unidentified liquid waste sat near rusting above-ground storage tanks, threatening utter contamination. The location was a magnet for vagrants and repeated criminal activity.

In spite of its obvious problems, the Magnolia District property did have two important things going for it — its ideal location near downtown Ocala and its generous size, both of which were appealing to TB&W, a successful company already sited on an adjacent lot and looking to expand. Location aside, the property’s deplorable condition didn’t exactly lend itself to the $20-million investment TB&W was prepared to make.

But then, with the property owner’s consent, the site was designated a Brownfield area, and everything changed. The City of Ocala worked in concert with the Ocala/Marion County Economic Development Corporation (EDC), Enterprise Florida and the Marion County Board of County Commissioners to create what would become an amazing opportunity — an offer that TB&W simply couldn’t refuse.

TB&W President Lee Farkas looks back on the process that led his company to locate on the Brownfield site.

“In all honesty, I can’t tell you a lot about the process, other than the results of a beautiful building emerging from a very unattractive location,” he says candidly. “I know there was a great deal of work behind the scenes for our benefit ... I guess that says a lot about the people working on it. The city basically gave us the property, and the EDC brought the state in to do all they had to do to get it cleaned up and ready to build. It [the process] was so seamless that I didn’t have to get too involved. It doesn’t get much better than that!”

Today, TB&W’s new global headquarters is a downtown treasure, and community leaders encourage other companies to take a look at additional Brownfield properties available in Ocala and Marion County.

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker’s new corporate headquarters is the diamond that emerged from a Brownfield site in Ocala where broken-down machinery and rusty storage tanks had been left behind.

Tags: Environment, Business Florida