The intent of the Select Site Certification Process is to provide a consistent set of standards regarding site readiness that both development professionals and business prospects can easily understand and rely upon. The business professional must know how much time will be required to control the site, develop it, begin construction, and initiate plant/business startup. Adequate planning with a minimum level of risk is imperative. Similarly, the development professional must convey information in a way that is accurate, relevant and meaningful to the prospect – with the possibility of not even knowing that a site is being considered.
The ideal scenario is for a site to be one hundred percent ready. This would mean that all infrastructure is in place, all required permits are easily obtainable, no questionable environmental conditions exist, and property control allows for any possible occupancy scenario - whether it is a lease, out right purchase, or lease to own. The reality, however, is that no perfect site exists. Each site has unique challenges and characteristics that must be resolved or addressed in some fashion – whether large or small. To address this issue, a site certification process has been developed which categorizes property according to the site’s readiness for use. The two levels are as follows:
Each level has minimum amount of data that must be provided by development professionals. In addition, there must be a clear demonstration that certain activities have taken place that will allow the property to be used for its intended purpose. The following gives an overview of each level.
To be classified as a Registered Site, only a minimum amount of information is required, which is descriptive in nature and includes the following:
A SelectSite is synonymous with being ready for development immediately. The condition of the site conforms to an exhaustive set of site requirements that must be addressed in order to be eligible for this classification. The development professional knows that the SelectSite benchmark requirements have been met once the site qualifies for this status. Likewise, the business prospect is assured that the information supplied demonstrates an appropriate level of site preparedness with confidence that the data has been verified.