Urban Sprawl, Economic and Environmental Concerns Drive Momentum of Land Recycling Activities Nationwide, Report Says

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Urban Sprawl, Economic and Environmental Concerns Drive Momentum of Land Recycling Activities Nationwide, Report Says

XL Environmental 2002 Land Reuse Report Shows 43 Percent Increase in Land Being

Cleaned Up and Reused

PENNSYLVANIA, EXTON, Oct. 29 -/E-Wire/Business Wire/-- Concerns about urban sprawl, job creation, and cleaning up polluted properties -- aided by national legislation, new financial incentives and more government and public support -- continue to push land recycling activities to new levels, according to the 2002 XL Environmental Land Reuse Report released today.

The Land Reuse Report provides a "snapshot" of national and regional trends in the reuse of contaminated land through a media coverage review about these activities. The annual report, which has also been issued in 2000 and 2001, is available on-line at www.xlenvironmental.com/landreuse.

Exton, PA-based environmental insurance provider XL Environmental partnered with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), based in Washington, D.C., to perform the media analysis for the third consecutive year. The IEDC analyzed 331 newspaper and business journal articles published from July 2001 to June 2002 and collected from on-line sources.

The number of redevelopment projects that are cleaning up and returning formerly used property to good use continues to grow, according to this year's report. The report examined news coverage of 428 specific land reuse activities involving at least 160,000 acres, or 224 square miles of property in 43 states, plus Washington, DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

This represents a 43% increase in land area than was represented in the 2001 Land Reuse Report, which reported on 112,000 acres discussing 346 specific brownfields sites.

XL Environmental Senior Vice President of Risk Management Bob Hallenbeck said: "Growing problems with suburban sprawl -- combined with advances in remediation technology and environmental insurance -- make brownfields redevelopment an increasingly attractive solution to an array of land use and economic problems. Year after year, this analysis shows that people are growing more comfortable with brownfields redevelopment and are taking advantage of the risk management tools and financial incentives available to them. "

"This year's report may also show some effects of the passage of the Small Business Liability and Brownfields Revitalization Act earlier this year," noted Hallenbeck. "Whatever the combination of reasons for increased land reuse activity, it is clear that sites once considered real estate eyesores are now viewed, through a completely new lens, as exciting opportunities."

The number of states represented in this report is also greater than those discussed in the two previous reports, showing more widespread interest and activity in brownfields redevelopment. California showed the most dramatic increase in land reuse activity and ranked number one in this year's analysis.

In the 2002 report, 41 sites discussed in the media were in California as opposed to only 20 sites in last year's report.

In addition to California, Ohio (38 sites), Pennsylvania (37 sites), New York (27 sites), Wisconsin (25 sites), Massachusetts (24 sites), New Jersey (21 sites), Connecticut (20 sites), Florida (19 sites), and Illinois (18 sites) appear to be consistent leaders in land reuse, having been cited in previous reports too.

According to Ed Gilliland, vice president and senior director of Advisory Services for IEDC, "Redevelopment falls under the purview of numerous federal, state, and local entities; it is difficult if not impossible to obtain an accurate picture of this activity nationwide. An examination of media coverage nationwide -- in the absence of similar information elsewhere -- is an extremely useful tool for evaluating national redevelopment trends.

"Analyzing media coverage of land reuse activities serves as a barometer by which to measure the general public's insight, awareness, and understanding of redevelopment," added Gilliland.

The 2002 XL Environmental Land Reuse Report pinpoints a variety of trends:

-- Comfort levels with brownfields redevelopment continue to grow. Developers, governments, and the general public seem to be increasingly aware of the benefits of redevelopment. The level of dialogue continues to improve, thus allowing an informed, intelligent debate on cleanup and redevelopment. Of all the benefits cited, residents were most pleased that a site would be environmentally sound. They also expressed a great deal of pride and commitment to their neighborhoods and felt that job creation and access to recreation opportunities were key to keeping their communities vital.

-- California, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Wisconsin consistently appear at the forefront of brownfield redevelopment activity. These states have been at the top of all three years' lists with the most sites under planned or current development.

-- Public sector involvement continues to be strong in brownfield redevelopment. Community input on how a brownfields would be reused has contributed to this success.

-- Public-private partnerships are increasingly creative. Governments at all levels are finding innovative ways to make brownfields projects attractive to the private sector, particularly by providing funding and liability relief. In this year's report, cities, which have the most to lose from contaminated, underutilized land languishing on the tax rolls, are as well represented as developers.

-- Mixed uses comprise the majority of future and planned brownfields redevelopment sites. For the past two years, industrial uses have made up only 14 percent of future uses, though they were 70 percent of former uses. There is also an increase in sites that are being used for cultural and recreational facilities.

-- Community concerns over brownfields redevelopment usually center on health and safety hazards, overdevelopment and gentrification. Community after community cited the same reasons for supporting brownfields redevelopment -- improvements in health and neighborhood safety, increased property values, new job opportunities and the reduction of sprawl.

IEDC is the world's leading association serving economic and community development professionals and those in allied fields. IEDC has over 4000 members worldwide. Additional information on IEDC can be found at www.iedconline.org.

XL Environmental, Inc. provides integrated environmental risk management(R)solutions to business and industry worldwide through insurance, risk control and claims management. XL Environmental, Inc. is part of XL Insurance, which is comprised of the insurance operations of XL Capital Ltd.

XL Capital Ltd, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is one of the world's largest providers of insurance and reinsurance coverages and financial products. Additional information is available on the XL web site: www.xlcapital.com or www.xlenvironmental.com.

Note: A photo is available at URL: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.102902/bb5

XL Environmental, Inc.

Christine Weirsky, 800/327-1414

http://www.xlenvironmental.com

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.102902/bb5

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