Brownfields investing

• US 6,253,191 B1
• Filed: 01/20/2000
• Issued: 06/26/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Clhsm LLC
• Original Assignee: Cheryl Hoffman
• Inventors: Hoffman, Cheryl
• Primary Examiner(s): Downs, Robert W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): KANOF, PEDRO R
• Application Number:
  US09/488,112
• Time in Patent Office: 523 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/36, 705/38, 705/39
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

A Brownfields investment vehicle, and a system and method for investing in Brownfields-related projects are provided that are capable of supporting all aspects of a Brownfields remediation/development/redevelopment project, while shielding investors from environmental liability. The Brownfields fund makes, for example, non-recourse, participating capital investments or Brownfields Value Contracts (“BVC”) to a number of “special purpose vehicles” for specific Brownfields projects according to fund investment criteria determined by a fund manager. An investor'"'"'s risk of incurring environmental liability is substantially reduced by providing that the Brownfields fund is completely passive with respect to the Brownfields project, taking no security or mortgage interest in the Brownfields.

Claims

1. A method for investing in Brownfields, comprising:

establishing a Brownfields fund, the Brownfields fund providing investment capital on a non-recourse basis for Brownfields projects and remaining passive with respect to the Brownfields projects;

receiving investor capital from investors;

approving an entity for the investment capital on the non-recourse basis for a respective one of the Brownfields projects according to predetermined criteria, the entity having an ownership interest in a Brownfields associated with the one of the Brownfields projects; and

providing the investment capital on the non-recourse basis to the approved entity using at least some of the investor capital from the investors.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the entity is a special purpose vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the providing step includes providing a Brownfields Value Contract to the entity, the investment capital being provided to the approved entity in accordance with terms of the Brownfields Value Contract.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

wherein the providing step includes exchanging by the approved entity an interest in future cashflows from the respective one of the Brownfields project for the investment capital from the Brownfields fund.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the establishing step includes establishing the Brownfields fund so that the Brownfields fund is long-term in duration relative to durations of the Brownfields Value Contract.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the establishing step includes establishing the Brownfields fund so that a size of the Brownfields fund is large relative to respective sizes of each capital investment made by the Brownfields fund.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the providing step includes providing the investment capital to entities only after a investment level is above a predetermined minimum.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

providing a return on investment to each one of the investors as a function of an amount of respective capital provided by the one of investors.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step of providing the return on investment includes providing the return on investment as a function of cashflow from the Brownfields projects.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving capital step includes receiving the investments electronically.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving capital step includes receiving the investments via mail.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the establishing step includes receiving investments from investors for use in providing the non-recourse capital investments, each of the investors being passive relative to all of the Brownfields projects.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing information related to each of the Brownfields projects; and

storing information related to the borrower.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the Brownfields project is at least one of:

i) a development project, ii) a redevelopment project, and iii) an environmental remediation project, and wherein the Brownfields fund does not take an ownership interest in a Brownfields associated with the Brownfields project.

15. A Brownfields investment vehicle, comprising:

a Brownfields fund providing investment capital to at least one approved entity on a non-recourse basis for at least one project involving at least one Brownfields without taking an ownership interest in the at least one Brownfields, the Brownfields fund remaining passive with respect to the at least one project, receiving investor capital from at least one investor and providing a return on investment to the at least one investor.

16. The Brownfields investment vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the at least one approved entity includes a plurality of approved entities.

17. The Brownfields investment vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the at least one project includes a plurality of projects.

18. The Brownfields investment vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the at least one Brownfields includes a plurality of Brownfields.

19. The Brownfields investment vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the at least one Brownfields includes a plurality of investors.

20. The Brownfields investment vehicle according to claim 15, further comprising:

at least one Brownfields Value Contract setting forth terms and conditions of the provision of the investment capital by the Brownfields fund to the at least one approved entity, the Brownfields fund providing the investment capital to the at least one approved entity in accordance with the at least one Brownfields Value Contract.

21. The Brownfields investment vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the at least one project includes at least one of:

i) a development project, ii) a redevelopment project, and iii) an environmental remediation project.

22. The Brownfields investment vehicle according to claim 20, wherein the at least one Brownfields Value Contract describes an exchange of an interest in future cashflows flowing from the at least one Brownfields project for the investment capital by the at least one approved entity.

23. The Brownfields investment vehicle according to claim 20, further comprising:

a storage medium storing an indication of at least some of the terms and conditions of the Brownfields Value Contract.

24. A method for managing a Brownfields fund, comprising:

storing in a computer system information relating to a Brownfields fund;

accepting investor capital from at least one investor;

storing information in the computer system relating to the at least one investor, the stored information including investor identification information, investment amounts, and terms of investments;

storing information in the computer system concerning an entity and a project involving a Brownfields, the entity having an ownership interest in the Brownfields;

approving the entity and the Brownfields project according to predetermined criteria using the information stored in the computer system concerning the entity and the Brownfields project; and

providing investment capital by the Brownfields fund to the approved entity for the approved Brownfields project on a non-recourse basis without taking any ownership interest in the approved Brownfields project.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the providing the investment capital step includes exchanging by the approved entity an interest in future cashflows from the Brownfields project for the investment capital.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the providing step includes providing a Brownfields Value Contract to the approved entity, and further comprising the step of:

storing the terms of the Brownfields Value Contract in the computer system.

27. The method according to claim 25, further comprising:

receiving by the Brownfields fund a portion of cashflows from the Brownfields project to generate at least a portion of a fund cashflow; and

determining a portion of the fund cashflow to which each of the at least one investor is entitled as a function of the terms of investment stored in the computer system.

28. A method of investing in Brownfields, comprising:

providing investor capital by an investor to a Brownfields fund in accordance with predetermined terms of investment, the Brownfields fund providing investment capital on a non-recourse basis for Brownfields projects and remaining passive with respect to the Brownfields projects, the Brownfields fund approving an entity for the investment capital on the non-recourse basis for a respective one of the Brownfields projects according to predetermined criteria, the entity having an ownership interest in a Brownfields associated with the one of the Brownfields projects, the investment capital being provided on the non-recourse basis to the approved entity using at least some of the investor capital from the investor without taking any ownership interest in a Brownfields property associated with the one of the Brownfields projects; and

receiving by the investor a return on investment, the return on investment being determined as a function of the predetermined terms of investment.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the approved entity exchanges an interest in future cashflows from the one of the Brownfields projects for the investment capital, and wherein the return on investment is determined as a function of actual cashflows generated by the one of the Brownfields projects to the Brownfields fund.