Garb-Ko was in the process of marketing almost sixty of its facilities to 7-Eleven, Inc. The transaction involved performing environmental due diligence activities including Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) with asbestos sampling at select locations and Phase II ESAs for sites needing further investigation.

The evaluation of the sixty sites had to be completed in less than 45 days based on the terms of the purchase agreement. The sixty sites included locations across the lower peninsula of Michigan and extended into north-central Indiana. The complexity of the project consisted of numerous factors including the widespread locations of the sites, the involvement of individual store franchisee operators, and the expedited nature of the transaction. Further complicating the project was the need to assess asbestos in conjunction with the Phase I activities.

AKT Peerless mobilized a team of experienced environmental professionals and strategically assigned individual stores to select locations across all of the company offices (Chicago, Southeast Michigan, Mid and West Michigan, and Great Lakes Bay Region). The purpose of this assignment was to minimize mobilization, utilize staffers who may be familiar with the respective local units of government, and increase overall productivity of all staff members involved in the projects.

This skilled and experienced project team allowed both Garb-Ko and 7-Eleven to make informed decisions on the environmental conditions of the sixty properties, some of which did require additional environmental assessment and regulatory closure. The same multi-talented project teams assessed and evaluated each of the project sites which required additional levels of investigation.