Veteran Steve Luzkow joins Partner as Technical Director

Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. (Partner) is delighted to welcome industry veteran Steve Luzkow as Technical Director in their Environmental Due Diligence practice. Mr. Luzkow is an Environmental Professional (EP) with over 30 years of experience as an environmental consultant for the financial, commercial real estate, and government sectors. Based in Salt Lake City, Mr. Luzkow is a valuable addition to the environmental leadership team.

Having worked in banking and consulting, Mr. Luzkow’s background allows him a deeper understanding of the varying perspectives, nuances, and needs of all parties in the CRE transaction. Prior to joining Partner, Mr. Luzkow worked as an environmental consultant for firms such as CBRE and ECA Risk Management as well as financial institutions such as CapitalOne and LaSalle Bank Midwest. He has also served on the ASTM E1527 Task Group and worked as a state Superfund manager and environmental science college professor, adding diverse expertise to Partner’s environmental leadership team.

“Steve is a great addition to our team, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and experience to our environmental due diligence practice,” said Nicole TK Moore, National Technical Director of Environmental Sciences. “His leadership and unique skillset will be invaluable as we continue to grow and improve our practice.”

As an environmental consultant, Mr. Luzkow has worked with large private and publicly traded equity clients, CMBS lenders, bank Environmental Risk Managers (ERMs), legal counsels, and regulatory agencies to quantify environmental risk associated with commercial real estate transactions. He has extensive experience in single and portfolio due diligence of Phase I and II ESAs, remedial actions, and client-specific due diligence, as well as providing consultation on contracts reviews, policy development, risk management reviews, and training programs.

Notable projects Mr. Luzkow has worked on include:

• Vehicle Dealership Due Diligence, National – Managed the due diligence of over 75 vehicle dealerships and Phase II ESAs for client borrowers when recognized environmental conditions (RECs) were identified.
• Hospitality Portfolio, National – Managed the due diligence of US hotels for an international investment client which required collaboration with the client representatives in the European capital market.
• Plating Facility Decommission, Detroit, MI – Representing a lender, facilitated pre-foreclosure negotiations with the state and defaulting party prior to taking acquisition to establish decommission requirements and costs, avoiding lender liability under the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA).
• Sturgis Municipal Wellfield Superfund Sites, MI – Managed the funding (in coordination with the USEPA) and oversight of field activities, having identified the source of municipal wellfield contamination after a two-year period of extensive subsurface investigation episodes.
• Brownfield Tax Increment Finance, Detroit, MI – Successfully secured Brownfield funding for the construction of a bank branch which required close coordination with the City of Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and state Brownfield authorities.

At Partner, Mr. Luzkow will be responsible for managing due diligence assignments, third party reviews, and lender support services, including underwriting and lender-owned asset assessments. Mr. Luzkow has extensive experience in the all appropriate inquiries (AAI) requirements promulgated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and related ASTM E1527 Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to give our clients the full reach of services that Partner provides,” said Mr. Luzkow. “During my time at CapitalOne, I worked with Partner often and was always impressed with how responsive and thorough Partner was. The way Partner approaches and services the interests of their client was always very attentive to our particular needs and goals.”

Mr. Luzkow has an M.S. degree in Environmental Science from Florida Institute of Technology as well as a B.S. degree in Biology from Oakland University. He is an active member of the Environmental Bankers Association (EBA) and has served on the boards for Risk Management Association (RMA), Michigan Bankers Association Environmental Committee, and Michigan Association of Environmental Professionals.

To learn more and connect with him, click here.