Redevelopment

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An abandoned building in Washington, D.C. being converted into luxury condominiums.

Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses on it such as the redevelopment of an industrial site into a mixed-use development or the redevelopment of a block of townhouses into a large apartment building. Urban Infill on vacant parcels that have no existing activity but were previously developed is also sometimes referred to as redevelopment.

Redevelopment also refers to state and federal statutes which give cities and counties the authority to establish redevelopment agencies and give the agencies the authority to attack problems of urban decay. The fundamental tools of a redevelopment agency include the authority to acquire real property, the power of eminent domain, to develop and sell property without bidding and the authority and obligation to relocate persons who have interests in the property acquired by the agency. The financing of such operations might come from borrowing from federal or state governments and selling bonds and from Tax Increment Financing.

Redevelopment projects can be small or large ranging from a single building to entire new neighborhoods or "new town in town" projects.

Some redevelopment projects and programs have been incredibly controversial including the Urban Renewal program in the United States in the mid-twentieth century or the Urban Regeneration program in Great Britain. Controversy usually results either from the use of eminent domain, from objections to the change in use or increases in density and intensity on the site or from disagreement on the appropriate use of tax-payer funds to pay for some element of the project.

Other terms sometimes used to describe redevelopment include urban revitalization. While efforts described as urban revitalization often involve redevelopment they do not always involve redevelopment as they do not always involve the demolition of any existing structures but may instead describe the rehabilitation of existing buildings or other neighborhood improvement initiatives.

A new example of other neighborhood improvement initiatives is the funding mechanism associated with high carbon footprint air quality blight. Assembly Bill AB811 is the State of California's answer to funding renewable energy and allows cities to craft their own sustainability action plans. These cutting edge action plans needs the funding structure; which can easily come forward through redevelopment funding.