Dirty land: a great deal or a big hassle

One of the biggest stories in Central Florida in the 1990s was how the Orlando Sentinel was found to have contaminated the ground under a large swath of downtown Orlando.

For decades, the company had been sending chemicals from its printing presses into drains on the floor of the plant. Those chemicals traveled from its property at Orange Avenue and Colonial Drive, almost all the way to Lake Concord.

The main chemical, trichloroethylene or TCE, was extremely hazardous to people, with an extreme risk of causing cancer.

When the stories broke about this polluted flume of chemicals, the thought was that land would be impacted for decades and would probably be a black hole of development in the heart of the city core.

In fact, the property appraiser slashed the value of all property above the plume by 50 percent.

Today, the north downtown corridor has seen a significant rebound. There are restaurants and apartments, office buildings and small shops. It is a walkable community where businesses and residents thrive.

It also cost millions to clean up and was the subject of a years-long lawsuit to ensure the Sentinel took responsibility, forcing them to clean up the groundwater.

Even though the Sentinel stopped using TCE in 1982, the issue was not publicly known for years. No business wants to be known as a polluter, it is imperative to make sure you understand any issues that might affect the purchase of commercial land you intend to develop.

The attorneys at The Orlando Law Group can help you with any issues of contamination that might be found on a property you are interested in buying.

What type of contamination could be there?

It seems like there is an endless supply of chemicals and hazards that can be found on a site you might be interested in purchasing.

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