And while the urban infill and brownfield development process isfraught with tough issues, "we are attracted to brownfield sitesbecause of their location," Frank Petkunas, VP-regional developmentofficer for IDI told attendees of the concurrent session. Most ofthose locations, of course, are in the middle of heavily populatedregions with substantial W/D potential.

And beyond that, "we are also attracted to them becausegreenfield sites are rare," Petkunas said. "Brownfields are analternative to diminishing greenfields."

And according to Petkunas, matters have improved regarding oneof the nagging problems: "The liability issues have diminished.Also, people have gotten smarter." And as far as the underwritingprocess, "we look at the structure of the deal. The complexity ofthe contamination is important, especially relating to time."