Source: Distinguished Programs

A bank was looking to provide financing for the acquisition of a multi-tenant commercial shopping center in Chicago. The issue holding up the negotiations was their concern with potential environmental impacts from an on- site dry cleaner that had operated for decades prior to vacating the site in the late 1990s. A limited investigation that  focused on the former dry cleaner was conducted when the property changed hands in the early 2000s. That  investigation detected dry cleaning chemicals in soil and groundwater beneath the site. Based on the data collected  in the 2000s and the financial strength of the borrower and guarantor, we offered unrestricted site coverage for the  lender. In the event the borrower was to default on the loan, the lender would have environmental insurance  coverage for cleanup costs or mortgage protection, as well as coverage for third-party bodily injury or property  damage claims.