Building Communities Through Brownfield Redevelopment

Pullman & Comley, continues to be a leader on brownfield development, closing deals that change non-productive property into commercially developed land that benefits entire communities. For years, several of our attorneys have been working on various aspects of a large brownfield site located in Waterbury, Connecticut, commonly known as WIC (Waterbury Industrial Commons). WIC was once a major supplier of armaments to the U.S. government and housed various manufacturing operations, including a brass rolling mill, a ball bearing factory, a casting shop, and at 463 feet long - one of the longest draw bench machines in the world.

Since the City of Waterbury acquired the WIC property by eminent domain, our attorneys have assisted with various aspects of the short- and long-term property management.  This includes guidance with grant applications (Department of Defense, EPA, DEEP and DECD);  development and administration of required relocation benefits; negotiation with tenants; management of environmental issues, including contracting and agency interactions, handling of local and state land use issues including subdivision, road and utility abandonment and reconstruction, and rail crossing relocations. Our attorneys then handled the sale of a portion of the site to King Industries, the world’s leading technical specialists for industrial additives.