Kato Road

Location: Fremont, CA
Size: 23 acres

Prior Use
From 1969 through 1987, the site was used as a concrete batch facility for the production of pre-fabricated, tilt-up building components, and as a truck and heavy equipment storage yard.

Challenge
The site was contaminated with both petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents in the soil and groundwater. An underground storage tank that had been used to store diesel fuel had been removed from the site, but the associated contamination had not been fully remediated. Further, solvents used to maintain the heavy construction equipment had leached into the soil and the perched groundwater aquifer. There was no known off-site contamination.

Solution
LandBank worked with the lead environmental regulatory agencies, Alameda County Water District (ACWD) and the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board (SFRWQCB), and determined that active remediation was not immediately required. With the concurrence of the regulatory agencies, LandBank installed additional groundwater monitoring wells which are being monitored to insure that solvent concentrations are continuing to naturally attenuate. At closing, an escrow was funded to install additional wells, develop a closure approach, and ensure periodic monitoring of the wells until closure is achieved. This site will use a risk-based closure approach.

LandBank’s Role
LandBank acquired the property and provided environmental management services. LandBank placed a Real Estate Pollution Liability policy on the site, providing coverage for remediation costs, including reopening of regulatory closure, as well as bodily injury and property damage. The policy provides protection to the buyer, seller, and future owners of the site. LandBank subsequently sold its interest to a national developer.

New Use
The property was developed into 350,000 square feet of R&D
flex-facilities.