Greyfield land

Greyfield land is underused real estate assets or land. The term was first coined in the UK in urban design theory in the late 1990s, and later adopted in the US a decade later, with the name coming from the "sea" of empty asphalt concrete that often accompanies these sites. The word greyfield is a relative neologism as compared to more commonly known terms such as brownfield and greenfield.

In the UK, the term applies specifically to underused buildings and land in towns and cities that could be intensified by the addition of rooftop developments (in the case of an existing building) or airspace developments (above an existing carpark, for example).

In the US, the term has historically been applied to formerly-viable retail and commercial shopping sites (such as regional malls and strip centers) that have suffered from lack of reinvestment and have been "outclassed" by larger, better-designed, better-anchored malls or shopping sites. These particular greyfield sites are also referred to as "dead malls" or "ghostboxes" if the anchor or other major tenants have vacated the premises leaving behind empty shells. Still in the US, the "greyfield" term may also be applied more broadly to urban infill or commercial locations where underused or outdated (non-retail) uses hamper an otherwise valuable real estate asset. An example would be a formerly industrial waterfront site that is potentially valuable as a mixed use/residential site as it is being encroached upon by residential sprawl, or other economic or redevelopment pressures. In this example, the revitalization of the greyfield may require zoning changes and/or a public-private partnership of some kind to achieve the highest and best use.