Governor Lamont Announces State Grants to Remediate 22 Blighted Properties and Put Them Back Into Productive Use To Grow Jobs and Housing

Press Releases

06/14/2024

Governor Lamont Announces State Grants to Remediate 22 Blighted Properties and Put Them Back Into Productive Use To Grow Jobs and Housing

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has approved a series of state grants totaling $26.3 million that will be used to support the remediation and redevelopment of 130 acres of contaminated land throughout Connecticut, consisting of 22 properties located in 17 towns and cities. The funds will support the communities with the costs of cleaning up these properties so they can be redeveloped and put back into productive use to support economic growth and housing needs.

The grants are being released through the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program. These state investments are expected to leverage approximately $112.7 million in private investments, which is critical to bringing these 22 properties back into productive reuse.

The selected projects will boost economic development and job growth, as well as aid in the development of new housing. In total, the projects are expected to create approximately 1,285 jobs and 373 units of housing, including 148 affordable units. Approximately 58% of the overall funding is being awarded to projects in distressed municipalities.

“Nobody wants to have old, polluted, and blighted properties in their neighborhood that sit vacant for decades, especially when that land could be used to grow new businesses and create housing for people who need it,” Governor Lamont said. “This state program enables us to partner with municipalities and developers to bring these lifeless properties back from the dead.”

“I would like to thank our friends at the Department of Community and Economic Development for working together in tandem with our administration to focus some of our state’s efforts on really bringing these spaces back to life,” Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz said. “This is a transformative investment that turns otherwise unusable property into a new space blossoming with opportunities for Connecticut businesses and residents.”

“All of these projects, in one form or another, are helping to strengthen community vibrancy and improving the quality of life for our residents,” Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Daniel O’Keefe said. “I am particularly proud of the fact that our state investments are successfully leveraging over $112.7 million in private funding, creating more than 1,200 jobs and developing new housing opportunities for so many.”

“We are thrilled that financial investments are arriving for these important properties,” Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “DEEP is grateful to join DECD in partnering with neighborhoods to navigate cleanup solutions that catalyze the properties’ reuse.”

The grants and loans announced today under this funding round includes:

• Berlin: $360,000 grant to complete the ongoing remediation of contaminated soil on a 1.54-acre parcel located at 55 Steele Boulevard. This will enable the construction of approximately 50 mixed-income residential units next to the Berlin Train Station.
• Bridgeport: $4,000,000 grant to execute a Remedial Action Plan and for demolition and remediation activities of the former 16.13-acre greyhound racetrack site located at 255 Kossuth Street. The site is proposed to be developed by the Connecticut Sports Group, LLC into a sports stadium that will house a professional MLS NEXT Pro soccer team and will be part of a multi-phase redevelopment project that will also include a 260-key hotel, mixed-use development, and a community park and green space.
• Bridgeport: $4,000,000 grant to complete remediation of the 2.97-acre site, located at 141 and 173 Stratford Avenue. This will enable the creation of a public, open-space, and waterfront access area, including a boardwalk, public community soccer field, and a landscaped and hardscaped entryway plaza leading to the proposed CT United Soccer Stadium on the adjacent property at 255 Kossuth Street.
• Cheshire: $90,000 planning grant for the development of a marketing study, site specific environmental assessment, brownfield mapping, and streetscape and parking design services for the West Main Street Downtown District.
• Colchester: $1,125,700 grant to complete remediation of approximately 3,200 cubic yards of impacted soil at the former Norton Paper Mill site, located at 139 Westchester Road. The property will be turned into a public passive recreation park.
• East Hartford: $95,000 grant to further assess the site located at 164 School Street, currently owned by United Steel. The assessment will allow the company to expand its operations, which will create more tax revenue for the town, and create a second shift which will create more local jobs for the community.
• East Hartford: $50,000 grant for environmental site assessments of the underused building located at 1016 Main Street to determine a remediation and development strategy for the property as a whole. The property has historically served as an entertainment venue, Eastwood Theater in 1941, then Buster’s Pub & Cinema from 1966 to 1994.
• East Hartford: $200,000 planning grant to examine the Burnside and Church Street Village Area with a goal of addressing potentially contaminated structures and creating a comprehensive plan.
• New Haven: $516,400 grant to investigate and remediate the 0.82-acre site located at 80 Hamilton Street that was formerly used for residential and several industrial and commercial purposes. The remediation will enable the construction of a museum with the mission to educate, inspire, and enrich the understanding of history through an immersive presentation of artifacts related to New Haven’s history.
• New Haven: $975,700 grant to remediate and abate the city-owned properties on the 1.03-acre lot located at 69 Grand Avenue and home to the historic “Strong School” in the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven. The project may include the potential demolition of structures that are not historic. Redevelopment of the property will create approximately 58 affordable housing units and a large community space.
• New London: $200,000 grant to prepare Phase I Environmental Site Assessments of six parcels on Bank Street and Meridian Street to determine a remediation strategy to allow for future remediation of these properties. Completing the assessment work will enable the City of New London to utilize an existing $1,000,000 EPA grant for the remediation activities at the project sites.
• Norwalk: $3,294,527 grant to demolish and abate the Meadow Gardens public housing complex located on a 3.8-acre property at 45 Meadow Street and 5 Monterey Place. This will enable the construction of approximately 55 low-income residential units.
• Norwich: $4,000,000 grant for completion of a remedial action plan and an asbestos work plan, abatement, and demolition of buildings A & B, the skywalk, and 5th Street Bridge at the 6.05-acre, former Capehart Textile Mill located in the Greeneville National Historic District. The remediation of the project site will enable the creation of a new riverfront park.
• Plainville: $1,394,500 grant for completion of remediation of impacted soil and groundwater on the 14.76-acre site located at 1 and 63 West Main Street. The abatement/remediation will enable the creation of approximately 175 new apartments with ground floor retail and amenities, a 13,000 sq. ft. medical-office building, and seven acres of deeded open space. Previous DECD funding ($1,170,000) was utilized for abatement of hazardous building materials of the structures on site.
• Portland: $200,000 planning grant to develop a new master plan for downtown encompassing the Riverfront Overlay Zone and Town Village District, including the brownfield parcels at 222, 230, and 248 Brownstone Avenue.
• Redding: $200,000 planning grant for the comprehensive planning of the Georgetown Neighborhood with a goal to revitalize and redevelop the former Gilbert and Bennet Wire Mill brownfield site.
• Vernon: $2,000,000 grant to abate and remediate identified environmental impacts at Daniel’s Mill, a 1-acre property located at 98 East Main Street. DECD had previously awarded $2 million for the cleanup of the site, but site investigations and testing have identified the need for additional funding. The redevelopment of the historic mill will create approximately 35 residential units and support the overall Rockville Mill Complex redevelopment that is expected to create 110,000 square feet of residential units and 20,000 square feet of commercial space consisting of a brewpub/restaurant and event space.
• West Haven: $1,187,270 grant to abate hazardous building materials on the 1.53-acre property located at 66 Tetlow Street. The former elementary school will be the future site of the Shoreline Wellness Center and Behavioral Health Clinic that will provide mental healthcare services.
• Windsor: $2,000,000 grant to remediate and abate the structures at the former Stanadyne manufacturing facility, located at 90 Deerfield Road. Remediation of the 32.95-acre site will enable the adaptive reuse of the property to a business park that will provide new manufacturing, R&D, warehousing/distribution, and offices to meet local market demand.
• Windsor: $200,000 grant for further assessment of the former industrial site (Stanadyne property) located at 92 Deerfield Road.
• Windsor Locks: $73,450 grant for further site assessment work at the vacant, suburban-style plaza located at 255 Main Street.
• Woodbridge: $132,000 planning grant to assess a 155-acre property, formerly the Country Club of Woodbridge, and help advance a comprehensive redevelopment vision for housing or mixed-use development.

For more information on Connecticut’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program, visit www.ctbrownfields.gov.

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