MARIANNA, Fla. – Counties from Escambia, to Jefferson, and everything in between, have vacant properties that just aren’t helping economic development.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection hosts an annual program that teaches county officials ways to help redevelop the properties.
Often times, gas stations, laundromats, landfills and other old properties will be left vacant for years, all because of possible contamination.
“When there’s that perception that there’s potential contamination, nobody wants to touch the property. Nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody wants to label it as a brownfield’s property,” said Chris Rietow, Apalachee Regional Planning Council Exec. Director.
A Brownfield’s property, one where the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse is complicated by actual or perceived contamination.
The reason the Florida Department of Environmental Protection started the Brownfield’s Redevelopment Program.