State grants totalling $18.8 million will be used for the assessment and remediation of 227 acres of contaminated land across Connecticut, according to Gov. Ned Lamont. The funding will support 23 properties in 19 towns and cities, helping cover the costs of cleaning up these parcels so they can be redeveloped and returned to productive use.
In a statement Lamont said the grants are being released through the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s (DECD)
Brownfield Remediation and Development Program
. This round of funding is projected to attract $218 million in private investment and facilitate the creation of 450 housing units. Approximately 52% of the total funding will be allocated to distressed municipalities.
“Old, polluted, blighted properties that have sat vacant for decades do nothing to stimulate our economy, grow jobs, and support housing growth,” Lamont said. “With these grants, we are partnering with towns and developers to take unused, lifeless properties and bring them back from the dead, rejuvenating land that can be used for so much more and can bring value back to these neighborhoods.”
Commissioner Daniel O’Keefe of the DECD agreed.
“Our brownfield redevelopment efforts continue to produce great results, not only for the communities that can now capitalize on new opportunities for growth and vibrancy but also for the residents who directly benefit from the new end uses for these reclaimed properties, whether it be housing, parks, commercial space, or community centers,” O’Keefe said.
The grants announced today under this funding round include properties in Ansonia, Bridgeport, Danbury, Derby, East Lyme, Hartford, Monroe, Naugatuck, New Britain, New Haven, New Milford, Norwich, Redding, Shelton, Stonington, Torrington, West Hartford, Winchester, Windsor and Windsor Locks.
Some of the larger expenditures include $4 million in Hartford for the demolition of a former data processing center on Windsor Street, $2 million for cleanup of the existing New Britain Business Park, $4 million for the cleanup of property adjacent to the proposed Windsor Locks train station, and just under $3 million for cleanup of former industrial properties on Canal Street in downtown Shelton.
Smaller grants include $100,000 for assessment of the former St. Jude School in Monroe and $200,000 for assessment of the former Hershey and Peter Paul Cadbury site.
For more information on Connecticut’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program, visit
ctbrownfields.gov
.
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