The guy knew that I was price conscious and was able to make recommendations accordingly. 

With all the various environmental laws, etc. if it's an actual named creek or stream moving any dirt around would probably not be allowed.

While I could easily be picking up housing in Monessen, New Kensington, or Penn Hills I personally have made the conscious decision to look further out of the city.

A developer buys a property for X amount of dollars, and has to put in all the infrastructure to support the project (underground utilities, roads, curb, gutter, sidewalk, drainage, deal with any environmental concerns, soil stabilization issues, earthquake requirements, cost of a neighborhood park, contribute to a nearby traffic signal, etc. and many unforeseen things) ALL of these things add costs to a development.

I'm pretty sure an environmental impact study would be needed on the Dry Cleaners but what about the other just old washateria?

The environmental cost of inorganic fertilizer is in 1) the mining of the chemicals, 2) inorganic chems can can kill microbial life and damage overall soil health, and 3) runoff from lawns and ag with chemicals affects nearby water quality.I've been an organic gardener for years and don't use any chemical pesticides on anything.

If you've proven to yourself that these improvements make business sense (pay for themselves in savings in the short term), AND environmental sense, PLUS your tenants will be happier and more likely to stay longer (as @Roy N.

I am safety conscious, my personal home has always been a fortress, between the exterior lit up all night like a bank, alarm always in use, camera system all over & me armed inside.

The design will also be highly energy efficient and meet the “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) Silver certification rating set by the U.S.

Ask for Phase I & II ESAs and talk with an attorney about your legal exposure (if any) and an environmental consultant about the clean up and health risk.