by Sarah Sieloff, Haley & Aldrich

On December 12th, EPA-funded technical assistance provider the Redevelopment Institute hosted a webinar about US manufacturing, lack of land, and brownfield redevelopment. The following post provides a summary with links to resources.  A recording of the webinar is available here.

After decades of decline, US manufacturing investment is on the upswing, and manufacturing investments worth tens of millions to hundreds of billions of dollars are landing across the nation. Often, that’s happening in smaller and mid-sized communities. The reasons are complex and span federal incentives, shifting geopolitics and lessons learned following the global pandemic. For example, on December 10th, Eli Lilly announced a $6 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing investment in Huntsville, Alabama, and similar commitments are coming to many communities from companies ranging from Toyota and Hyundai to yogurt producer Chobani. 

But there’s a hitch: the US lacks the development-ready land necessary to accommodate this investment. According to the 2025 State of Site Selection Report, 49% of site selectors identified the availability of development-ready sites as a limiting factor. For Michael Taylor, brownfields redeveloper, president of Vita Nuova, and webinar speaker, this indicates that now is the time for local governments and private investors to coordinate planning to facilitate future investment, as site selectors—one of whom referred to a “manufacturing renaissance”— describe new levels of demand for project-ready sites. 

Each major manufacturing investment needs land, and so does its infrastructure, suppliers with warehouses and logistical requirements, workers, and workforce housing. Mark Williams, author of Corporate Site Selection and Economic Development, estimates that an investment anticipated to create 4,000 manufacturing jobs will generate 11,600 supplier jobs. Anticipating each supplier job requires 1,200 square feet of space, that adds up to 1,065 acres (1.66 square miles) needed to accommodate the original manufacturing facility and the ecosystem that surrounds it. 

Critically, those 1,065 acres don’t need to come in the form of a megasite. In the 2025 State of Site Selection Report, site selectors emphasize the need for sites of varying size, from 5 acres to 150 acres, with utilities and clear development timelines.  

Whether urban or rural, few places in the US have enough development-ready land today, but brownfield redevelopment could change that. With the final year of historically large EPA Brownfields grants upon us, and applications due January 28 of 2026, now is the time for local governments to think hard about how land reuse can improve their readiness to receive manufacturing investment. 

Brownfield redevelopment fueled by EPA grants can provide an answer

EPA is currently accepting applications for $255.7 million in Brownfields grants, which can support environmental assessment, cleanup, planning and community engagement. Most public and nonprofit entities are eligible to apply, and although private sector entities can’t directly receive this funding, they can still benefit from Brownfields grants by partnering with public and nonprofit applicants.

This year is significant because it is the final year in which funding from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will make historically large Brownfields grants possible. The BIL effectively tripled available EPA Brownfields funding by investing $1.5 billion over five years (FY22-FY26). However, all BIL funds must be obligated by September 30, 2026, after which Brownfields grants will reduce in number and size.  

While we often talk about Brownfields as an environmental program, Brownfields grants are really about redevelopment. They support planning activities that generate reduce uncertainty and generate redevelopment momentum, from market feasibility studies to infrastructure assessments and fiscal and economic impact estimates. Done well, planning under a Brownfields grant can start conversations about public-private partnerships, and help articulate a pathway to redevelopment. Table 1 shows examples of planning activities that can be funded by EPA Brownfields grants. For more information about specific Brownfields-support planning activities, check out these factsheets from EPA. 

Table 1. How can you plan under an EPA Brownfields grant?

EPA values planning so highly that it evaluates assessment grantees on whether they allocate at least 30% of their proposed grant budgets to planning activities. Planning facilitates redevelopment because it clarifies local preferences and expectations, and can mitigate project opposition, which can cause costly delays. 

EPA Brownfields grant applications are due January 28, 2026, and it’s not too late to start. 

The Author:

Sarah Sieloff, Planner, Haley & Aldrich Sarah Sieloff is a planner with Haley & Aldrich, an integrated, multidisciplinary consulting firm. Based in Bellingham, Washington, Sarah helps public and private sector clients around the US build more sustainable, livable futures by navigating and effectively addressing brownfield redevelopment, climate resilience, environmental justice concerns and state and federal funding.