The goal of every country's economic policy is economic growth. A prerequisite for economic growth is investment. Investments can be carried out by investing in the construction of entirely new facilities (greenfield investments) or by investing in existing locations that are neglected or currently unprofitable. These investments are referred to as brownfield investments and they are the subject of this paper. The Republic of Croatia has a significant number of neglected locations such as abandoned tourist, industrial, and military complexes which require activation and represent an investment opportunity. It is crucial to note that there is an opportunity to increase tourist capacity without significant disruption to still untouched nature. This paper will emphasize the importance of seizing the opportunities provided by brownfield locations. Brownfield locations lead towards sustainable development which is the key to long-termprosperity. There are numerous investment possibilities in brownfield locations, but the implementation of such investments faces various limiting factors. In addition to the many advantages of brownfield investments, problems arise, primarily manifested in land management through a complicated and unsystematic institutional framework for managing state property, closely related to unsettled property and legal relations, changing legislative frameworks, and the lack of alignment between spatial plans and tourism development plans.