Phase I Environmental Site Assessment in Yonkers, NY
Yonkers anchors lower Westchester County along the Hudson River — New York State's third-largest city and one of the most active urban brownfield repositioning markets in the metropolitan New York region, sitting directly north of the Bronx with Metro-North access to Grand Central and easy reach from I-87 / NY State Thruway, the Saw Mill River Parkway, and the Major Deegan Expressway. Property owners, developers, contractors, municipalities, and counsel working across Yonkers, Westchester County, and the lower Hudson Valley rely on focused, locally informed environmental due diligence. Resource Renewal supports these projects through RCC's ASTM E1527-21 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment scope, layered with NYSDEC-aligned Phase II investigation, remediation, and brownfield repositioning support under the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) — delivered by our Mount Holly HQ team and DSR-affiliated remediation crews mobilized to Yonkers and the surrounding Westchester corridor.
Resource Renewal connects three service tracks under one platform: ASTM E1527-21 Phase I ESAs and NJDEP Preliminary Assessments delivered by RCC; Phase II Site Investigations and Remedial Investigations when Recognized Environmental Conditions are identified; and full remediation and brownfield redevelopment delivered with our affiliated platform DSR. Project teams coordinate with the NJDEP Site Remediation Program and pursue site closure under LSRP oversight toward a Response Action Outcome (RAO).
Why Property Owners and Developers in Westchester County Choose Resource Renewal
Yonkers' environmental landscape reflects more than a century of dense industrial activity tied to the Hudson River waterfront, the Saw Mill River corridor, and the historic Otis Elevator Company, Alexander Smith Carpet Mills, the former Glenwood Power Station, and Phelps Dodge copper. Today, Yonkers is at the center of one of the most distinctive urban repositioning stories in the Northeast — the Saw Mill River daylighting project at Larkin Plaza, downtown waterfront redevelopment, Hudson Park, and the ongoing transformation of legacy industrial parcels along Alexander Street and the river edge. Phase I ESAs in Yonkers routinely surface multi-generational fill, historic underground storage tanks, PCBs at former industrial sites, metals from copper and carpet manufacturing, petroleum, and Hudson River corridor sediment concerns — all of which require NYSDEC Division of Environmental Remediation pathways under the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP), or Environmental Restoration Program (ERP).
- ASTM E1527-21 Phase I ESA
- NJDEP Preliminary Assessment overlay
- Phase II Site Investigation
- Soil & groundwater investigation
- LSRP-led NJDEP closure pursuit
- Brownfield redevelopment via DSR
- Active project work in 5 states
- 30+ years of NJ project history
Environmental Context in Yonkers and Westchester County
Industrial and Commercial Heritage
Yonkers was an industrial powerhouse of the Hudson Valley — anchored by Otis Elevator Company (founded and headquartered in Yonkers for more than a century), Alexander Smith Carpet Mills (one of the largest carpet manufacturers in the world), Phelps Dodge copper, the Glenwood Power Station along the Hudson, sugar refining, and a dense network of mills, foundries, and rail and river infrastructure. Generations of carpet, elevator, copper, and power generation operations layered the urban fabric with historic fill, underground storage tanks, PCBs, heavy metals, petroleum, and the kinds of legacy conditions that drive Phase I ESA findings today.
Current Environmental Profile
Yonkers today is one of the most active urban brownfield repositioning markets in lower Westchester County. The Saw Mill River daylighting project, downtown waterfront investment, the Alexander Street corridor, the Glenwood and Ludlow waterfront redevelopment zones, and continued infill across the city all sit within active NYSDEC oversight. Soil and groundwater concerns commonly include PCBs at former industrial sites, chlorinated solvents, heavy metals (copper, lead, arsenic), petroleum hydrocarbons, and historic fill. Vapor intrusion screening is routinely required where former industrial parcels are repositioned for residential, mixed-use, or community-facing redevelopment.
Real Estate and Development Market
Yonkers is one of the strongest urban repositioning markets in the New York metro — Hudson River waterfront development, Saw Mill River corridor revitalization, transit-oriented development around Metro-North stations (Yonkers, Glenwood, Ludlow), adaptive reuse of former mill and industrial buildings, and infill across downtown and the Getty Square corridor. NY State BCP tax credits, NYSDEC remediation funding, and Westchester County brownfield incentives unlock significant economics for qualifying sites. Lenders, attorneys, and developers active in Yonkers rely on ASTM E1527-21 Phase I deliverables that hold up under NYSDEC review.
Local Regulators, Authorities, and Stakeholders
Environmental work in Yonkers is coordinated through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Region 3 office in New Paltz, the Division of Environmental Remediation (DER), and the federal EPA Region 2 office. Closure is delivered under the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP), or Environmental Restoration Program (ERP). Key local stakeholders include the City of Yonkers Planning Bureau and Industrial Development Agency (Yonkers IDA), the Westchester County Department of Planning, Empire State Development (ESD), Groundwork Hudson Valley, Riverkeeper, and the Westchester Land Trust. Resource Renewal's Mount Holly HQ team works fluently across the NYSDEC BCP framework alongside our NJ and PA practice.
Why This Local Context Matters for Your Project
Yonkers is a complex environmental market — dense urban industrial heritage along the Hudson River and Saw Mill River, layered historic fill, PCBs and copper legacy at former mill and manufacturing sites, intense pressure on residential and mixed-use repositioning, and significant regulatory expectation from NYSDEC under the BCP framework. Resource Renewal delivers Phase I ESA and follow-on investigation, remediation, and brownfield support that is anchored in NYSDEC BCP practice, lower Hudson Valley experience, and the kind of locally informed judgment that keeps Yonkers projects moving on schedule.
Environmental Services Available to Yonkers, NY Projects
Service availability spans two connected tracks: Investigation & Compliance, including transactions, financing, and regulatory closure documentation, and Remediation & Redevelopment, including physical cleanup, environmental liability transfer, and conversion of impaired real estate. RCC and DSR jointly cover the full project lifecycle from pre-acquisition due diligence through final regulatory closure and redevelopment.
Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
ASTM E1527-21 site assessment with NJDEP Preliminary Assessment overlay for Mount Holly and Burlington County properties.
Phase II Environmental Site Assessment
Subsurface sampling and certified laboratory analysis when RECs are identified during Phase I.
Site Investigation
Comprehensive site characterization, soil sampling, groundwater investigation, soil vapor assessment.
Environmental Remediation
In-situ and ex-situ soil and groundwater remediation, OM&M, and pursuit of regulatory closure.
Regulatory Compliance
Permitting, audits, hazardous waste management, SPCC plans, NJDEP agency liaison.
Brownfield Redevelopment
Acquisition, remediation, and redevelopment of impaired NJ real estate through DSR.
Environmental Liability Transfer
DSR-led liability transfer for owners seeking to exit impaired sites.
Landfill Closure
Closure, post-closure care, and EPA LMOP-aligned beneficial reuse options through DSR's TB2G™ model.
How Resource Renewal Serves Yonkers, NY
Investigation & Compliance (RCC Track)
The ASTM E1527-21 Phase I ESA scope covers site reconnaissance, historical land use review, regulatory database searches, agency file reviews, and key personnel interviews. RCC layers the federal ASTM scope with NYSDEC BCP-aligned documentation so projects in New York carry both federal CERCLA innocent purchaser protections and a credible pathway to BCP Certificate of Completion under Track 1, 2, 3, or 4 soil cleanup standards. When Recognized Environmental Conditions or Areas of Concern are identified, RCC moves directly into Phase II Site Investigation and, where warranted, Remedial Investigation — coordinating sampling plans, certified laboratory analysis, and data evaluation aligned with NYSDEC DER-10 Technical Guidance for Site Investigation and Remediation. Documentation is built for NYSDEC Region 3 review.
Remediation & Redevelopment (DSR-Affiliated Track)
Remediation capabilities include in-situ chemical oxidation, bioremediation, soil vapor extraction, ex-situ excavation and disposal, groundwater pump-and-treat systems, permeable reactive barriers, sub-slab depressurization, and long-term operations, maintenance, and monitoring (OM&M). For owners exiting impaired property, the DSR platform provides brownfield acquisition, environmental liability transfer, and full redevelopment, applied across more than 100 brownfield sites in NJ, NY, PA, MA, and OH. The Mount Holly HQ at the Resource Renewal Business Park is itself a representative example of a former brownfield converted into productive operating real estate — a model directly applicable to Yonkers BCP closures and Hudson River corridor repositioning.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Mount Holly is Resource Renewal's headquarters city. The Resource Renewal Business Park at 10 Lippincott Lane is a completed brownfield redevelopment project and the home base for RCC and DSR field crews working across Burlington County. Surrounding municipalities served from this HQ include Burlington, Westampton, Lumberton, Eastampton, Hainesport, Pemberton, Cinnaminson, Maple Shade, Moorestown, Cherry Hill, Marlton, and Medford.
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A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is a documented review of a property's current and historical use, performed under ASTM E1527-21, that identifies Recognized Environmental Conditions and Areas of Concern. Typical triggers include commercial real estate transactions, lender requirements, attorney due diligence, pre-redevelopment review, and refinancing. RCC pairs the ASTM Phase I ESA with an NJDEP-compliant Preliminary Assessment to provide combined federal CERCLA and NJ ISRA innocent purchaser protections. In Mount Holly and Burlington County, the property types most likely to trigger Phase I work are industrial, automotive, agricultural, fuel storage, and dry cleaning sites.
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A typical Phase I ESA runs two to three weeks from authorization to draft delivery, depending on environmental database turnaround, depth of historical research, agency file review timing, and site access. RCC can accelerate timelines for time-sensitive transactions when scope and access permit. Layered NJDEP Preliminary Assessment work is coordinated within the same engagement. Under ASTM E1527-21, a Phase I ESA is valid for 180 days, with extensions of up to one year possible if specific components are refreshed.
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When Recognized Environmental Conditions are identified, the natural next step is a Phase II Site Investigation: a defined sampling plan, certified laboratory analysis, and data evaluation against NJDEP standards. If contamination is confirmed, RCC develops a Remedial Investigation and a Remedial Action Workplan, pursuing a Response Action Outcome under LSRP oversight. For owners who prefer to exit the property rather than carry it through closure, DSR brownfield acquisition and environmental liability transfer are available as an alternative path.
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DSR is Resource Renewal's brownfield redevelopment company, with experience across more than 100 brownfield sites in NJ, NY, PA, MA, and OH. DSR services include site evaluation, environmental liability transfer, and full redevelopment. DSR is a member of the EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program and the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast, and applies its Turn Brown to Green™ (TB2G™) model for landfill closure and beneficial reuse. EPA Brownfields Program grants and incentives may apply to qualifying Mount Holly and Burlington County sites.
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Under the NJ Site Remediation Reform Act of 2009, contaminated sites are remediated under Licensed Site Remediation Professional oversight rather than direct NJDEP case management. The LSRP defines the technical approach, files key submissions, and issues a Response Action Outcome when site conditions meet applicable remediation standards. Typical sequencing is Preliminary Assessment, Site Investigation, Remedial Investigation, Remedial Action, and final RAO issuance. The RAO confirms regulatory closure and supports transactions, financing, and redevelopment.
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Burlington County is New Jersey's largest county by land area and one of the most active warehouse and distribution development markets in the Northeast. The I-295 / NJ Turnpike Exit 5 / Route 38 corridor and proximity to the Port of Philadelphia have driven sustained conversion of agricultural and former industrial parcels into large-format warehouse, fulfillment, and last-mile distribution facilities. Each of those transactions typically triggers a Phase I ESA from lenders or institutional buyers. Volume has been particularly visible in Mount Holly, Westampton, Burlington Township, Florence, and Mansfield.
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The Resource Renewal Business Park at 10 Lippincott Lane is itself a brownfield redevelopment project that moved through the same investigation, remediation, regulatory closure, and reuse process RCC and DSR deliver for clients. It is a working demonstration that contaminated parcels can move from environmental liability to productive operating real estate when investigation, remediation, regulatory strategy, and redevelopment are executed by an integrated team. Prospective clients are welcome to walk the site as part of project scoping.
Visit Our Mount Holly, NJ HQ or Find Us Near You
The Resource Renewal Business Park
10 Lippincott Lane, Unit 1
Mount Holly, NJ 08060
For ASTM E1527-21 Phase I ESA, Phase II Site Investigation, remediation, regulatory compliance, or brownfield redevelopment support on a Yonkers, NY project, contact Resource Renewal directly. Project work in New York is delivered under the NYSDEC Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) framework, with field crews mobilizing from our Mount Holly HQ. Call (856) 273-1009 or request a project consultation.