Brownfield Area-Wide Revitalization (BAR) Planning Grants

Overview

Funding is authorized under Section 1 (f) of Public Act No. 15-193.  The goal of this program is to help eligible applicants develop a comprehensive implementation plan for the remediation and redevelopment of neighborhoods, districts, corridors, downtowns, waterfront zones or other areas burdened with multiple brownfields. Through this program, DECD hopes to work with municipalities to transform the brownfields in these areas from liabilities to community assets. The program provides an opportunity to move from the site-by-site approach in DECD’s other brownfield programs to a more comprehensive area-wide approach to arriving at reuse and redevelopment strategies. The area-wide plan should include specific plan implementation strategies for assessing, cleaning up and reusing the specific brownfields as well as for overall revitalization of the designated BAR Planning area.

The following are expected outcomes of the BAR Planning Process and Program:

  • Comprehensive understanding of existing conditions and issues
  • Community participation to develop a successful implementation strategy
  • Effective implementation strategies (based on market studies and feasibility analyses)
  • Prioritization of specific brownfield sites for cleanup and reuse
  • Priorities for public and private investment
  • Formation of an advisory/steering committee

Eligibility

Eligible Applicants
Municipalities, Economic Development Agencies and Regional COGs.

Maximum Funding Amount
Applicants may apply for a grant amount up to $200,000.  The program requires a minimum 10% match.

Funding Process
Grants under this program are made periodically on a competitive basis, based on a request for applications published on this website. Please check this page periodically for updates and information about upcoming funding rounds.

Latest Funding Round
There is no funding round announcement at this time.

Criteria For Funding

Proposals for funding will be evaluated according to the criteria included in the Rating and Ranking Matrix.

  • Project Need and Purpose
  • Project Description and Vision
  • Work Plan
  • Applicant Capacity and Capability
  • Leverage and Collaborations
  • Relation to State Policies, Programs, Initiatives and Projects

Eligible Uses of Funding

The following is a general list of eligible activities under the BAR Planning Grant Program:

  • Community visioning/public participation exercises;
  • Analysis of existing environmental conditions and other issues/conditions in the area — building conditions survey, historic properties inventory, historic survey, hazardous building material survey;
  • Limited Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments (Please note: The Phase I and II ESAs will have to help achieve the goals of the BAR Plan. Also, the total cost spent on this project activity cannot exceed 25% of the grant amount);
  • Brownfields mapping;
  • Market/demand studies and feasibility analyses;
  • Infrastructure analyses;
  • Roadway and streetscape planning;
  • Site inventory;
  • Strategic site identification;
  • Cost-benefit analysis;
  • Coordination with existing community plans;
  • Site reuse/redevelopment plans;
  • Conceptual designs;
  • Implementation strategies;
  • Identifying funding sources for redevelopment and implementation of the BAR Plan;
  • Acquisition due diligence;
  • Marketing to assess developer interest;
  • Local zoning revisions and other local law changes (including adaptive reuse code);
  • Legal analysis of environmental liabilities;
  • Completion of the EPA/DEEP’s PREPARED Workbook (only if used as a tool to help prepare the BAR plan);
  • Project management (limited, not more than 5% of grant); and
  • Other actions to spur investment in these sites.

How to Apply

To make a complete application for a BAR Planning Grant, applicants should expect to provide project information to DECD including but not limited to:

  • A description of the proposed project including the approach and vision
  • An explanation of the expected outcomes and impacts to project area long-term goals and objectives and expected benefits of the project
  • Information concerning the capacity and capability of the applicant
  • A project budget, project work plan, timeline and schedule
  • Confirmation of an advisory/steering committee; potential public private partnerships

FAQs

View Planning Grants Frequently Asked Questions here.

Contact 

If you have any questions, please contact Program Manager Binu Chandy at binu.chandy@ct.gov or (860) 500-2454.