01/22/2015
Gov. Malloy Announces $2.2 Million Investment in Preserving and Redeveloping Eight Historically Significant Brownfields Across the State
(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) has awarded $2,188,000 in assessment and planning grants to eight municipalities throughout the state to support the redevelopment of historically significant brownfield sites.
"As we've raised the bar like never before in preserving our most treasured areas, we've also made historic progress redeveloping brownfields - because it boosts our economic development in the short- and long-term. It's about the future, about revitalizing local communities, and enhancing our economy," Governor Malloy said. "This is an investment now that will benefit these municipalities for years to come."
In previous rounds of remediation funding, DECD's Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development (OBRD) has received many applications to assess or remediate mill properties and other historically significant structures, but often there has been limited reuse planning done to consider innovative redevelopment strategies once remediation is complete. In many rural communities, historic mill villages represent the only high-density developments that provide an opportunity for context-sensitive revitalization that minimizes the impacts of economic development on open space, farmlands and other cultural and environmental resources.
The Historic Brownfield Revitalization Program will provide grants to assess environmental and structural conditions, and conduct community-driven reuse visioning and planning exercises for historically significant brownfield sites.
Since 2011, the Malloy administration has allocated nearly more than $110 million in state funding for brownfield remediation and redevelopment in the form of loans and grants to municipalities and developers. For every dollar invested by the State, $3.43 has been or will be invested by non-State partners. By comparison, since 1995, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has invested $190 million nationally for brownfield cleanup. In August, DECD awarded $27 million to 20 remediation and redevelopment projects, which was the largest round of brownfield remediation investments ever made in the state's history.
The grants announced today will allow eight towns and cities to take vital steps toward returning sites to reuse that, in many cases, have been underused or abandoned for decades. The projects that have been awarded funding are:
- Bridgeport was awarded $300,000 to support assessment and reuse planning for the former Remington Arms Factory on Barnum Avenue
- Enfield was awarded $200,000 to support assessment and reuse planning for the historic Strand Theater in Thompsonville
- Haddam was awarded $300,000 to support assessment and reuse planning for the historic Haddam Jail on Route 154
- New Haven was awarded $300,000 to support assessment and reuse planning for the former Bigelow Boiler factory on River Street
- Norwich was awarded $300,000 to support assessment and reuse planning for the Uncas Leap Heritage Area
- Putnam was awarded $300,000 to support assessment and reuse planning for the Belding Mill on Providence Street
- Thompson was awarded $218,000 to support assessment and reuse planning for the River Mill on Riverside Drive
- Vernon was awarded $300,000 to support assessment and reuse planning for Daniel's Mill, a component of the overall Amerbelle complex into which 1st Alliance Lending recently announced it intends to move its headquarters
"Governor Malloy has made brownfield redevelopment a priority for our Administration, with more than 50 new projects receiving funding last year alone," DECD Commissioner Catherine H. Smith said."DECD, both through our Brownfields office and our Historic Preservation Office, is committed to partnering with municipalities throughout the state to reactivate these redevelopment sites."
"Under Governor Malloy's leadership, Connecticut is making an unprecedented commitment to rehabilitating and reactivating brownfields across the state, and with this latest round of funding, eight historically significant brownfield sites will move closer to being restored and reclaimed," said Tim Sullivan, director of Waterfront, Brownfield and Transit-Oriented Development. "By combining brownfield remediation with historic preservation, we believe these sites represent unique opportunities to create new jobs while also honoring Connecticut's industrial heritage."
"These grants will help cities and towns honor the past and preserve buildings which are an important part of our history as we continue to reshape our economy and our built environment to meet the challenges and opportunities of our changing economy," said Robert Klee, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner.
For more information about the program or the application process or other brownfield redevelopment programs, visit www.ctbrownfields.gov.
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For Immediate Release: January 23, 2015
Contact: Mark Bergman
Mark.Bergman@ct.gov
860-524-7334 (office)
860-416-1154 (cell)
Twitter: @GovMalloyOffice
Facebook: Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy