Developers Don’t Need To Shy Away From Contaminated Sites, They Just Need The Right Team

Elizabeth Mack, a partner in Troutman Pepper Locke’s Environmental and Natural Resources Practice Group, was interviewed in the December 9, 2025 Bisnow article, “Developers Don’t Need To Shy Away From Contaminated Sites, They Just Need The Right Team.”

• As the need for affordable housing, data centers, healthcare facilities and other key commercial real estate properties continues to rise, developers are struggling to find the land to build these spaces. 

• Increasingly, they are turning to brownfields, previously developed industrial and commercial properties contaminated by pollutants. Developers are exploring how these sites can be transformed from environmental blights into thriving community hubs. 

• Building on these sites naturally comes with unique challenges. The key to overcoming them is having the right consulting team involved early on, said Roux Vice President Frank Cherena. 

• “When you’re dealing with sites like this, problems are going to eventually rear their head, but the bigger issue is not being prepared for these problems from the outset,” he said. 

• As an environmental consulting and management company, Roux gives clients the advisory, regulatory and field services they need to successfully acquire and redevelop a brownfield site. But an environmental consultant alone is not enough, Cherena said. Developers also need the expertise of an environmental lawyer to help guide them through these uncertain waters. 

• Bisnow sat down with Cherena and Elizabeth Mack, Dallas office managing partner at Troutman Pepper Locke. Mack is national environmental counsel for developers across the country, giving her a wide-ranging perspective on environmental issues affecting contaminated property redevelopment. Cherena and Mack spoke about the relationship between environmental consultants and counselors and the steps needed to complete a successful brownfield deal. 

Click here to read the full article on Bisnow.