In 2018 Cantera acquired a former steel manufacturing plant in Joliet, Illinois. This 30-acre site was originally developed as the Phoenix Horse Shoe Co. plant in the 1860s, and the company manufactured and supplied horseshoes for the US Cavalry until the 1950s, as well as manufactured other steel products for various industries through 2013. The long-time heavy industrial operations resulted in undefined impacts of chlorinated solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, PCBs and heavy metals in both soil and groundwater.

For several years, the property owner searched for a legitimate purchaser of the site and entered into various contracts for purchase, only to have them fall apart due to unknown environmental risks. After an exhaustive and thorough review of the site’s contaminant conditions, and in conjunction with its environmental partners, Cantera was able to develop an effective risk assessment and remediation approach that was approved by the US EPA and Illinois EPA in the Spring of 2020.