EVOLVE Business and Professional Magazine November 2017 | Page 27

An architectural drawing of William Square.
Brownfield Programs
PROVIDE TOOLS FOR
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
L
by Michael Sznapstajler
ocated along the Halifax River, Downtown Daytona
Beach offers bustling shops, restaurants and cinemas
along a historic, mile-long, riverfront promenade. It is
in this area that you will find William Square, a development
by White Challis Redevelopment Co. Pedestrian friendly and
designed to mimic the architecture of historic downtown, William
Square offers 15 mixed-use city homes with ground-floors that
can be used for commercial purposes, providing owners with
live-work units to use or lease. It’s a relatively small scale project
but it’s an example of one of the more than 20 Brownfield Areas
in Volusia County.
&
COMMUNITY
REVITALIZATION
What are Brownfields?
Under federal law, a Brownfield Site is defined as property,
the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by
the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants,
or contaminants. Similarly, under Florida law, a Brownfield Area
is defined as one or more properties where expansion, reuse
or redevelopment is complicated due to actual or perceived
environmental issues.
A Brownfield Area is designed by a local government at public
hearings. In addition, Brownfield Sites are one or more specific
properties within a Brownfield Area that have formally entered
into the state Brownfields Program by signing a Brownfield Site
NOVEMBER 2017 | 27 |