Since the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR or “See-Clear”) was founded in 1998, the world of land recycling has changed dramatically. During the first twenty years of the Brownfield Act, many of the nation’s more prominent and desirable sites were cleaned up and put back into productive use. Today, many of the sites that remain available for reuse often require greater expertise, funding and creativity to make redevelopment a reality. The private sector has become more comfortable working with environmentally complex projects, but capacity in the public sector continues to lag, which can make it difficult for communities to bring their toughest properties to market and work productively with development partners.
Land reuse can address a number of community needs at once, it supports community health, economic growth, increased housing, and resilient, thriving communities. Approaching brownfield reuse holistically (especially during planning and community engagement) will lead to better project outcomes. The Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR) works as a prime and subcontractor on many public and private funded land revitalization contracts. The diversity of our projects reflects the range of expertise and specialized knowledge of our talented staff and consultants.
CCLR champions the beneficial reuse of underutilized and contaminated properties because people deserve clean, healthy, and safe neighborhoods to live, work and play in. CCLR is dedicated to helping you create a community-driven agenda for investment, to meet your community’s need for resilience, sustainable growth and projects that improve the lives of residents. We work with public entities, tribes, nonprofits, and for-profit clients to grow their capacity and help position their sites for productive reuse. In the past five years alone, we’ve helped secure over $65 million in grant funding and provided technical engagements to over 500 communities under grants and contracts from the U.S. EPA, California DTSC, local governments and private firms.
We draw on our extensive experience to provide expert consulting tailored to your organization’s needs. Let the experienced CCLR team be part of your bench of consultant talent.
How CCLR Helps
- Technical Assistance
- Community Outreach Strategies
- Brownfield Inventories and Story Mapping
- Program Conception, Development, and Management
- Outreach Campaigns
- Attracting Funding and Financing for Redevelopment
- Event Planning and Execution
- Capacity Building and Mentorship
- Publications, collateral development and video production management
What We Do
CCLR and the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) Consulting Corps partnered to provide the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde with a reuse roadmap for the sprawling reclamation and reuse of an expansive 23-acre brownfield at Willamette Falls on the Willamette River. The project known as Tumwawa Village will restore the Tribe’s stewardship of this ancestral lands, and bring lasting economic opportunity.
Niagara County had identified 500+ sites to be included in the County’s brownfield inventory. The County utilized an EPA Revolving Loan Fund to contract with CCLR for assistance with its inventory. CCLR has created a GIS inventory, property maps, and captured drone footage to help the County find buyers for its varied sites.
CCLR helped DTSC create and implement its ECRG program to support the assessment, investigation and cleanup of brownfields in vulnerable California communities. CCLR conducted stakeholder engagement to assist in the development of the grant program and developed grant guidelines, application and scoring. Since inception, the program has provided more than $129 million and created new homes, parks, health centers, grocery stores and more.
Jean Hamerman
Executive Director
Jean Hamerman has more than 30 years of experience in working to advance economic and environmental justice. Having worked in various positions at CCLR, Jean has a keen understanding of the brownfield redevelopment field and is successfully expanding CCLR’s leadership role at the national and local levels through leveraging CCLR’s specialized knowledge and identifying market opportunities. In previous roles at nonprofits and government agencies, Jean has managed the development and launch of new programs around financing, MWBE certification, energy-efficiency, and business education to advance economic equity and environmental priorities.
Ignacio Dayrit
Technical Assistance Lead
Ignacio coordinates CCLR’s technical assistance program for redevelopment projects. Ignacio is a redevelopment expert having spent 20 years with the City of Emeryville’s Redevelopment Agency, where he was responsible for the city’s Brownfield Pilot Project. He has over 30 years of experience in public sector development including: fiscal and financial analysis, public debt financing, feasibility analyses, and urban design. Ignacio was instrumental in the City’s redevelopment of hundreds of acres of blighted, contaminated property. He holds a BS in Architecture from the University of the Philippines and an MCP from The University of California at Berkeley.
Norman Wright
Senior Planning and Design Consultant
Norm is a former local government executive with 18 years experience leading planning, economic development, and redevelopment efforts in two counties and two cities across the four time zones of the “Lower 48.” In each organization, his teams delivered work that garnered national recognition with awards from industry groups like the American Planning Association and Urban Land Institute. He earned his Master’s in City and Regional Planning from Clemson University with a specialization in spatial modeling through Geographic Information Systems.
CCLR supports brownfield reuse efforts across the country through its partnerships with federal and state agencies and like minded nonprofits.
The Technical Assistance to Brownfield Communities (TAB) program provides technical assistance to communities and stakeholders to help address brownfield sites.an.
Read more about our expert staff, contractors and board members.
