Complete Rush Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessments for large property portfolio
Environmental Consulting
The Task:
Conduct Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) of 20 retail properties across BC, Alberta and Ontario and rank environmental risk within a one-month window.
The Challenge:
Our client planned to establish a Real Estate Investment Trust which required environmental assessments on many properties within their real estate portfolio. The project posed a particular challenge as it had to be completed on a very short timeline and included numerous property sites located across the country, all completed concurrently. Phase 1 ESAs can also present a challenge on their own: they require the review of historical documents, which can be time consuming in areas with a lot of history and on site activity as many of the sties in this project did. Historical documents for review include city directories (often dating back to the 1800s), aerial photographs, fire insurance maps and environmental reports by others. Identifying the risk tolerance appropriate for the specific scenario, in this case a portfolio.
The Solution:
PGL took on only the number of sites that we could complete in the time frame, so we didn’t leave the client high and dry with unrealistic expectations. Our team of senior consultants worked together like a well-oiled machine to review historical documents, conduct site inspections, and identified and ranked areas of potential environmental concern to single out significant risks. Significant risks were those that warranted a Phase 2 ESA (soil and groundwater sub-surface investigation) to quantify risks.
PGL’s use of senior consultants on all Phase 1s allowed us to quickly identify risks provide consistent assessment across all project sites. We responded quickly with significant resources capable of reviewing and summarizing all historical reports in about one week, and conducting all site inspections and preparing draft reports in three weeks. The client asked, we delivered.