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APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL recently completed a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) as part of the due diligence for an exciting project called The Hive.
The Hive is a campus consisting of collaborative co-working space with reception area, conference rooms, commercial kitchen, private offices, modular workpods, mailroom, and library, performance spaces, open field and preserved woodland, school for the arts with flexible classrooms, common space, Fab Lab, creative carrels, and computer lab, commercial kitchen, residential halls, athletic fields, artisan studios, coffee roasting area, machining center, glass blowing workshop, pottery studio, photography studio, metalsmith shop, and recording studio. The Hive is committed to the arts- performance, musical, visual, creative, and culinary, arts education, and sustainability. The Hive manages its own wastewater treatment plant and water supply system and is committed to ultimately generating more than half of their own energy through solar and wind infrastructure.  IMAGE: COLLECTIONS OF THE HENRY FORD A GIFT OF FORD MOTOR COMPANY (DATED NOVEMBER 12, 1936) The property consists of approximately 215 Acres, developed with 17 structures and has a rich history. During the Great Depression, Henry Ford acquired many thousands of acres of farmland in Southeast Michigan, collectively known as Quirk Farms. He was interested in soybeans for fuel experiments and testing new designs in an agricultural and private environment. He was also a passionate supporter of education. The American worker, he believed, had lost the use of his hands. In response, Ford opened over 50 boarding and trade schools throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
Approximately 215 of these acres south of Saline were established as one of these schools. The original maintenance shop floors, built from unused cuts of dashboard lumber, still remain today. For over 70 years after its sale in 1947, this unique property served as the Clinton campus for Holy Cross Children’s Services, an organization dedicated to providing hope and healing to boys, young men and their families. Part of the organization's due diligence, before purchasing the property was to have a Phase I ESA completed to evaluate the environmental condition of the property. APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL did identify a Historic Recognized Environmental Concern (HREC) related to one 1,000-gallon gasoline Underground Storage Tank (UST) and three 10,000-gallon heating oil USTs removed from the ground at the site in 1993. Based on a review of Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (MDEGLE) documents, a release of gasoline was reported in March 1993 as samples collected post-excavation revealed concentrations of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes (BTEX) and Methyl-tertbutyl-ether (MTBE). Additional sampling was completed in 2002 in order to delineate the vertical and horizontal extent of the release, the analytical results from which did not reveal concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or Lead exceeding respective laboratory method detection limits (MDLs). Furthermore, the areas previously revealing concentrations of contaminants during 1993 sampling no longer revealed contamination. Therefore, closure of the release was recommended, and then granted based on a Tier I Evaluation without land use restrictions. Conducting this due diligence can allow The Hive Project to claim innocent purchaser defenses if contamination is or may be present. It essentially allows a buyer to identify certain conditions before becoming the landowner, thus documenting they did not cause or contribute to that condition. In this regard, the Phase I ESA can be a great risk management tool in commercial real estate due diligence. APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL is proud to support The Hive with their environmental due diligence needs. Check out their work and mission, and consider donating.
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