Previewing 3 Pitch Competition Finalists for the Brownfield & Opportunity Zone Bootcamp in Chicago

CHICAGO - June 12, 2019 - PRLog -- In advance of the exciting and action-oriented Opportunity Zone (OZ) pitch competition at next week's Brownfield & Opportunity Zone (BOZ) Bootcamp at the University of Illinois at Chicago, pitch partners BrownfieldListings.com and Calumet Collaborative are privileged to reveal three finalists who will each put their project on the line in the country's first open pitch competition for redevelopment projects in OZs. The pitch competition at the BOZ Bootcamp on June 19 will follow a full day of excellent educational program featuring a diversity of leading experts who will be examining the essentials of capital reinvestment into real estate redevelopment projects in OZs from numerous perspectives.

Three finalists have been selected to pitch at BOZ Bootcamp as part of a rolling selection process set to end later this week. They are:

Project name: Bayfront Place
Location: Erie, PA
Size: 16 acres
Summary: The Bayfront Place development site is part of a larger 29 acre development on Erie's picturesque Bayfront, which currently includes the Bayfront Convention Center, the Sheraton Erie Bayfront Motel, and the Courtyard Marriott Erie Bayfront Hotel. The goal is to transform this piece of waterfront property into a vibrant, year-round destination for residents and visitors alike, serving as a catalyst to the city and the region to attract additional development and generate property taxes in step with the $160+ million already invested on the site by the Erie County Convention Center Authority.

Project name: Ferry Street Project
Location: Easthampton, MA
Size: 7.1 acres
Summary: The Ferry Street Project is a historic textile mill complex located at 1 Ferry Street, Easthampton, Massachusetts. Originally developed in the 1800's for use as a textile mill, it has since been abandoned and sits dormant. The site is currently home to six blighted brick masonry structures that total approximately 380,000 square feet. Situated on 7.1 acres in the Lower Mill Pond area in Easthampton, the structures command views of Mill Pond, the Mount Tom Mountain Range and a unique canal which runs between the buildings.

Project name: Burnham Lakefront
Location: Chicago, IL
Size: 100 acres
Summary: This unique urban brownfield site sits on Chicago's Lakefront within an international migratory bird corridor of the historically significant Bronzeville/Black Metropolis neighborhood and is adjacent to McCormick Place, the county's largest convention center. This large lakefront property was originally purchased by the City of Chicago to serve as the Olympic village as part of Chicago's unsuccessful bid for the 2016 summer games. More recently, the site was pitched as a high-potential location for Amazon HQ2 with a rare combination of size, location and quality.

"We're honored to partner with Brownfieldlistings.com on the pitch competition - Brownfieldlistings.com puts on amazing events that connect people that usually aren't able to get into the same room, and the outcomes are tremendous, said Sarah Coulter, Executive Director of Calumet Collaborative. "It's the shared value of in-person connections that motivated us to support this event and we can't wait to see the benefits of those connections come to life beyond the pitch competition," she added.

"There are opportunities everywhere," said Dan French, co-founder and CEO of BrownfieldListings.com, "and the many outstanding submissions we've had for the inaugural pitch competition at the BOZ Bootcamp is only further proof."
"The pitch is way oversubscribed," French added. "It's going to be a great show," noting the variety of submissions and the great stories they have to tell. "The beautiful thing about brownfield redevelopment is it tends to bridge stories from our past into brighter visions for our future."

The national Opportunity Zone project pitch competition at the Brownfield & Opportunity Zone Bootcamp will be hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago on June 19, 2019 and precede a reception announcing a winner and awarding prizes.

Learn more and register at: https://events.brownfieldlistings.com/brownfield-opportun...

Brownfield Listings, LLC (BL) is a national redevelopment marketplace, project platform and economic development ecosystem dedicated to the design, diligence, and development of the built-environment. The BrownfieldListings.com ecosystem lives online as a robust marketplace of ideas to reimagine, redevelop and revitalize real estate in any condition anywhere in the U.S. Basic listings and basic access are always free on BL.