May 13, 2013

GOV. MALLOY: STATE/LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS RESTORE BROWNFIELD SITES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

$6.5 Million Awarded to Remediate Sites in Bridgeport, Naugatuck, Newington, North Haven, Plainville, and Trumbull

(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy, joined by Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Commissioner Catherine Smith and other state and local officials, today announced that Bridgeport, Naugatuck, Newington, North Haven, Plainville, and Trumbull will receive a total of more than $6.5 million in grants and loans to clean up eight blighted brownfield sites.

"State and local governments can and should work together to restore blighted properties - sites that have tremendous potential for commerce, housing, and retail that will create jobs," said Governor Malloy. "There are hundreds of properties across the state - abandoned factories, warehouses, rail yards and mills, that were once the center of economic activity but now just contribute to urban decay. With the right investment, these properties can bolster our economy and add to our quality of life."

Administered by DECD, the funding will support environmental assessment, planning, design, remediation, demolition, construction, and acquisition for mixed-use developments, affordable housing, and commercial projects.

"Governor Malloy's commitment to remediate and redevelop brownfields has greatly benefited the municipalities that are searching for ways to improve commerce, address blight, and increase the tax base," said Commissioner Smith. "In the last year, DECD has awarded more than $34 million to clean up polluted sites in communities throughout Connecticut - an investment that has leveraged about $480 million in private and federal funding to revitalize local economies and restore community assets."

Today's announcement was made at the 3.9-acre National Welding property in the Town of Newington. Newington will receive a $2 million grant for demolition and remediation work. This is a transit-oriented development project that will transform the abandoned factory into 180,000 square feet of mixed-use space that includes retail, offices, and parking. The site is close to Central Connecticut State University, downtown Hartford, and the new Jackson Laboratory, and will connect Newington to Connecticut's first modern bus rapid transit system, CTfastrak.

"The Town of Newington wishes to thank Governor Malloy and Commissioner Catherine Smith of the Department of Economic and Community Development on the awarding to the Town of Newington, a $2,000,000 grant to remediate and redevelop the former National Welding site," said Newington Mayor Stephen Woods. "This will continue an important partnership with the State to provide economic growth to Newington and alleviate a highly visible Brownfield industrial site. We look forward to inviting the Governor Malloy and the Commissioner back when the site is ready for development and Fastrak begins operations."

"The National Welding factory site has been abandoned since 1994, and has long been in need of remediation," said State Senator Paul Doyle (D-Wethersfield). "This will go a long way towards cleaning up the blighted site, and increasing Newington's commercial tax base."

"This $2 million grant for demolition and remediation work at the National Welding site here in Newington is great news for our town and for the region," said State Representative Sandy Nafis (D-Newington), Deputy Majority Leader. "The funding will go a very long way towards cleaning up a blighted area that will boost economic development in our area. My thanks to Governor Malloy and the Department of Economic Community Development for making this significant investment."

The other projects announced today:

• Bridgeport will receive a $1,014,821 grant for site assessment, remediation, and redevelopment work at the Security, EE Wheeler, and EW Harral buildings-three historic properties in the downtown village district on Main Street. Redevelopment plans call for restoring about 76,000 square feet for 57 market-rate and affordable housing units, and 20,000 square feet for retail space. Located in the heart of Bridgeport's downtown and near the central business district, the $16 million project will meet transit-oriented development criteria and LEED sustainable standards.

• Bridgeport will also receive a $1 million grant for remediation and redevelopment of a 3.4-acre site to be known as and the Heroes Village Urban Agriculture Center Greenhouse Project. The project calls for 80,000 square feet of state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouses that will provide about 800,000 pounds of high quality produce for commercial sale. A retail center will be built to sell subsidized food to nearby residents, helping to alleviate the urban food desert- a community without access to supermarkets with high quality food. The development will also house an extension program of UConn's agriculture school, which will train unemployed veterans to farm in an urban setting and to operate and manage a retail food and produce distribution center from the site.

• Naugatuck - The Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation will receive a $975,000 grant for remediation work on 11.7 acres at 6 Rubber Avenue, a downtown site used since the 1860s primarily to manufacture rubber. The $2.4 million cleanup project will prepare the site for conversion into a mixed-use development that meets transit-oriented development and sustainable criteria.

• Newington - The Community Renewal Team will receive a $250,000 loan for environmental investigation and remediation work on 5.13 acres known as Veteran's Landing. The cleanup is necessary before the construction of a 103-unit assisted living facility for veterans. The $29 million project calls for a new 114,000 square foot, three-story building that will have 95 one-bedroom units and eight studio apartments and will incorporate best design practices in assisted living and certified sustainable/LEED design.

• North Haven will receive a $194,100 grant for environmental investigation at 400 Sackett Point Road, the former home of Circuit-Wise. Global Environmental Services has proposed building the area's first LEED certified recycling materials recovery facility with food waste composting capacity on the site. Phase I will create 35-50 jobs, phase II-build out of the construction and demolition materials handling system-will create between 70-100 new jobs.

• Plainville - 311 NB Plainville, LLC, will receive a $800,000 loan to demolish multiple structures and remediate soil at 311 New Britain Avenue. The $9.1 million project will ready nine acres and nine buildings totaling 50,000 square feet for multiple business uses.

• Trumbull - Broadway Trumbull, LLC, will receive a $350,000 loan for work at 10 Broadway Road, a 1 acre property that will be home to a mixed-use redevelopment project. The $3.3 million low-impact development project will be near a city park and serviced by two bus lines. It will include renovating and expanding an existing circa 1925 structure and constructing a new building. The project will create 9,000 square feet for eight residential units and about 12,000 square feet of retail and office space.

For more information about the application process or other brownfield redevelopment programs visit www.ctbrownfields.gov .

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For Immediate Release: May 13, 2013

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