It is standard practice for developers to complete two types of pre-development investigations before purchasing a property for redevelopment:
- Environmental due diligence investigations
- Geotechnical investigations
These two investigations are frequently conducted independent of the other, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, coordinating both the environmental and geotechnical investigations has the potential to save a project significant cost and time.
Environmental Due Diligence Investigations.
A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (Phase I) is usually the first step taken for environmental due diligence in advance of a property transaction or redevelopment project. The primary purpose of the Phase I is to evaluate a property for potential contamination. If the potential for contaminants is identified, a Phase II investigation (Phase II) is completed to determine if the soil, groundwater or soil gas impacts are at levels that will affect the consideration for the pending property acquisition and/or redevelopment.
Geotechnical Investigations.
Geotechnical investigations are completed to obtain information on the physical properties of soil and rock at a property which are then used to design foundations for proposed structures and associated earthwork requirements. Geotechnical investigations typically use the same approach for evaluating subsurface conditions at a property as Phase II investigations. As a practical matter, locations selected for geotechnical investigations are frequently relevant for Phase II investigations as well.
By coordinating both investigations, developers can realize significant cost and time savings simply due to the more efficient use of drilling resources, sampling equipment and personnel. Braun Intertec has successfully and efficiently coordinated both geotechnical and environmental due diligence investigations for property acquisitions and redevelopment.