As follow-on to several prior engagements assessing individual portions prior to and during redevelopment, Targus was retained to perform a comprehensive environmental site assessment (Phase I ESA and additional non-ASTM services) for a 1.2 million square foot master planned community (office, retail, and residential) located in the high-tech corridor of northwest Austin. This project was in the closing stages of redevelopment of a former 300-acre IBM research, development, and manufacturing campus. The totality of these former industrial facilities were evaluated and cleaned up under authority of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) delegated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Notable among the many individual areas of concern (AOCs) at the former IBM Campus were the Multilayer Tek (Multitek) Plant, a Filtration Plant, a Tank Farm, and area locally referred to as the “farmhouse”. Among the more significant releases was one at the “farmhouse” that affected groundwater in shallow and intermediate zones overlying the main regional groundwater source, the Edwards Aquifer.
Targus’ extensive review of regulatory files, and comprehensive interviews with former employees and personnel at the TCEQ was completed in a period of less than four weeks and documented that each of the AOCs had been individually assessed, remediated, and closed under Remedy Standard B to the satisfaction of the State. The conditions of the Remedy B standard, including on-site stormwater retention and discharge, did not interfere with current and anticipated future use and were specifically consistent with residential occupancy.
The final report prepared by Targus was sufficient to support inclusion in the institutional investor’s portfolio environmental insurance policy with no exclusions and to support taking an equity position in the asset.
