2026 Virginia Brownfields Conference

Economic development can include more than surface remediation. Discussion of potential resource and revenue streams for brownfield redevelopment in coalfield regions and overview of current projects.

After sitting vacant for nearly 10 years - a derelict dry cleaner & brownfield in Lynchburg - is now alive with business and living spaces along a redeveloped corridor in the Hill City. See more about this dynamic adaptive reuse project here: https://palmerahouse.com/ + https://www.pennylaneproperties.com/our-work

Brownfield assessment and redevelopment projects are often constrained by the same problems: limited resources, access, and data. Architects and planners designing adaptive reuse projects must work from photographs and guesswork. Community stakeholders struggle to visualize and advocate for redevelopment outcomes they cannot see. Three technologies are changing that: UAS-derived orthomosaics and 3D photogrammetry, SLAM-based mobile LiDAR scanning, and 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS). Together they enable photorealistic, spatially accurate, and interactive digital outputs that stakeholders in the redevelopment process can use. Designers use these tools to accurately and efficiently build scale digital models, generate as-built drawings, and quickly reference details and measurements without making additional site visits or sifting through hundreds of photographs. All of this allows for more time spent engaging with communities to create redevelopment concepts and supporting drawings that are easily understood by stakeholders, residents, and potential funding agencies that are unfamiliar with the project.

"Remediation and restoration of Brownfield sites means removing barriers so redevelopment goals can be realized. Often the greatest barrier is defining the end goal when a multitude of unknowns lie ahead. This session explores how the Town of Boones Mill, Virginia began its reuse planning for the former North American Homes property, a 55-acre site representing nearly one-quarter of the town’s land area. The site was found to contain unregulated disposal from former operations, which currently precludes redevelopment.
With support from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Stromberg/Garrigan and Associates (SGA) and their environmental consulting partners worked with the Town to identify a feasible redevelopment strategy featuring outdoor recreation, retail opportunities, and affordable housing. To advance this vision, the cumulative environmental assessment and concept planning documents were incorporated into a $1,385,000 FY26 EPA Clean-up grant request to remove the unregulated fill and prepare the site for reuse.
This project is a cornerstone of Boones Mill’s broader revitalization efforts, guided by their award-winning Boones Mill 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which received a National Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organization (NADO) in 2023.
Participants will gain practical insight into identifying Brownfield redevelopment opportunities, securing funding for environmental assessment and clean-up and integrating reuse planning into a long-term redevelopment framework."

Redeveloping brownfield sites is often a slow and costly undertaking—one that requires numerous steps and the coordinated expertise of many professionals. This presentation explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming that process by improving and accelerating environmental studies and remedial actions. AI-driven tools—including machine‑learning models, geospatial analytics, and natural language processing—are enabling environmental scientists and engineers to evaluate data more efficiently, reduce uncertainty, and streamline decision‑making. These technologies are now embedded in a wide range of technical tasks, such as data collection and review, change detection, predictive modeling, report automation, and QA/QC activities. As a result, AI‑enhanced workflows are increasing efficiency, optimizing limited budgetary and staffing resources, and ultimately shortening project timelines for brownfield redevelopment.

Poorly reclaimed mine sites require significant investment to transform their compacted, invasive-riddled vistas into ecologically diverse native forests. The voluntary carbon market offers a new channel for investment into these sites, but this development pathway isn't simple, quick or easy. Learn from our experience navigating market entry, conducting a feasibility assessment and quantifying the challenges of working with a 20-year-old autumn olive thicket. We open the books on Mineland ReLeaf, our 193-acre pilot project in SWVA, to inform you with financial analysis, carbon sequestration estimates, project development pathways and many lessons learned along the way.

This session explores how Brownfields restoration can advance habitat, resilience, and water quality goals on active industrial waterfronts through strong cross-sector partnerships. Focusing on a project along an industrialized tributary to the Chesapeake Bay, the presentation highlights collaboration among private industry, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations to restore degraded shoreline and upland habitat on a constrained site with a history of contamination. After an earlier living shoreline failed, the team reevaluated site conditions and developed a more resilient approach that accounted for wave energy, sea level rise, and practical design limitations. The project also expanded beyond the shoreline to include revegetation and habitat restoration in other disturbed areas of the property, helping transform once-contaminated spaces into functional, attractive habitat. This session will discuss lessons learned about tackling Brownfields projects, partnership-building, adaptive design, funding coordination, and the opportunities and challenges of ecological restoration on working industrial lands.

A case study of the renovation and adaptive reuse of an abandoned tobacco manufacturing facility with broken windows and graffiti in an industrial area of Richmond into the CARITAS Healing Center, with 47 sober living apartments to help people transition from crisis to a sober and stable life. Not a traditional homeless shelter, the renovation took inspiration from the hospitality industry to infuse every aspect of successful recovery housing and shelter environments into the final designs. With a feeling that's anything but institutional, the welcoming space is brightened by natural light streaming in through skylights and dozens of solar tubes. Along with transitional housing, the facility offers an emergency shelter for short-term needs, a workforce development program, the Furniture Bank which accepts furniture donations and refurbishes them for sale or donation to low-income households, and the organization's administrative offices. Energy Star appliances, low-flow toilets, and other energy eco-improvements make the facility efficient enough to cover much of its energy use from 313 kilowatts of solar power installed on its roof. The panel will discuss funding, planning, and implementation of this innovative renovation.

This session presents the design and optimization of a remedial approach for a chlorinated solvent-impacted site in Northern Virginia with elevated concentrations and suspected DNAPL in a fractured bedrock aquifer where traditional approaches were limited by restricted access to contaminant mass and complex subsurface conditions.
A combined in situ chemical reduction (ISCR) and anaerobic bioremediation strategy was implemented using controlled jet injection to deliver zero-valent iron and organic amendments. The method addressed mass transfer limitations by creating higher conductivity fracture networks and improving amendment distribution within targeted intervals.
Key technical considerations included the use of both surface and borehole geophysics to help develop the conceptual site model and to guide injection zones, combining ISCR and anaerobic bioremediation, and management of post-injection conditions. Results from more than 24 months of monitoring will be discussed to evaluate performance and long-term effectiveness.

The CSX-Former Staunton Metal Recyclers site is a classic brownfield: a former scrap-metal operation adjacent to rail infrastrucutre and Lewis Creek with suspected or confirmed PCB, petroleum, and heavy metals. Like many legacy industrial parcels, it sat underutilized for years due to environmental uncertainty and redevelopment risk. This session discusses the data and risk exposures identified through the Virginia Voluntary Remediation Program, coordination with EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for PCB detections, and plans and actions that keep the project moving forward.

With new vapor intrusion guidance published from ITRC and many states, developers and existing building owners are facing more pressure to mitigate building from risks associated with volatile contaminants and landfill gases. Mitigating the VI pathway involves more than simply adding a barrier and some pipes. Designers should be considering the VI pathway and how the selected mitigation approach will work; a concept referred to as the mitigation conceptual site model. Selecting the appropriate VI mitigation system (VIMS) for your building type and contaminants can increase the system effectiveness, lower construction costs, reduce monitoring requirements, and promote long-term building health. This talk will explore the pros and cons of various VIMS including depressurization, venting, aerated floors, active vs passive, membrane type, and monitoring options. Case studies will be included to demonstrate the impact of VIMS selection on project success.

"In 2026, Great Wilderness Brewing Company opened in the former McCarthy Building, constructed in 1910. This adaptive reuse of a previously underutilized industrial office property on First Street in downtown Pulaski utilized environmental assessment to reduce redevelopment uncertainty and create conditions for public and private reinvestment.
The brewery is part of a broader brownfield corridor transformation. Nearby properties, including the former General Chemical Company Foundry Site, were impacted by environmental concerns and limited activity but have since been redeveloped into a skate park and basketball courts through brownfield-supported strategies. Across the street, a former burned warehouse has been adaptively reused into new apartments, reflecting growing investor confidence.
This once quiet area now experiences sustained activity, with the brewery drawing visitors from outside the community who also support surrounding restaurants, retailers, and nearby recreational amenities.
This coordinated reinvestment demonstrates how brownfield assessment can reposition and strengthen an entire downtown corridor."

The newly enhanced Brownfields Development Resource Tool (DiRT), created by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in partnership with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), streamlines the process of identifying and evaluating sites for redevelopment, including utility‑scale renewable energy projects. Designed to support the redevelopment of potentially viable properties, DiRT integrates more than 20 geospatial data layers from state and federal sources to help users assess site conditions, regulatory factors, infrastructure access, and redevelopment constraints. By highlighting locations well‑suited for solar and energy‑storage facilities, the tool accelerates project planning while promoting sustainable land reuse. One major advantage of developing renewable energy on brownfields is the significantly simplified permit‑by‑rule (PBR) application process, making these sites both environmentally beneficial and economically attractive.

It is well-understood benefits, reduced risk, restored land, and economic revitalization. But what if cleanup were just the beginning? This session challenges attendees to reimagine brownfield redevelopment as a powerful tool for advancing sustainability, equity, and long-term community resilience.
Through a virtual tour of real-world redevelopment projects, the speakers will showcase how communities have leveraged brownfield programs to confront pressing challenges: food insecurity, urban sprawl, ecosystem degradation, soil erosion, and escalating flood risk. These same sites have been transformed into engines of environmental and social good, supporting pollinator habitat, improving soil health, sequestering carbon, enhancing biodiversity, replenishing groundwater, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and producing fresh, locally grown food.
Attendees will leave with concrete strategies for embedding sustainable design principles and climate resilience into brownfield planning from the outset, turning contaminated liabilities into enduring community assets.

This panel, hosted by the Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia, will seek to discuss progress on reutilizing brownfields for solar and energy storage in Southwest Virginia, including mine lands and landfills. Panelists from the energy sector will be invited to discuss their projects, recent progress, experienced challenges, potential solutions, and take questions from the crowd.