HARTFORD, CT — Standing outside the site of a former manufacturing company on Homestead Avenue, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Monday that the state planned to dole out another $13.6 million to clean up blighted and contaminated properties known as brownfields.
The funds are expected to be approved at the next state Bond Commission meeting and will be awarded to 14 municipalities, including $1.9 million for remediation of the three Homestead Avenue properties.
The funding also will cover remediation of properties in Bridgeport, Danbury, East Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, Plymouth, and Waterbury, totaling just over 34 acres. The bonding will also cover assessments of blighted property in Ansonia, Derby, New Britain, Norwich, Manchester, Middletown, Plainville, and Waterbury.
The state Bond Commission hasn’t met since May because of the state budget stalemate, which finally ended at the end of October when Malloy agreed to sign a budget he didn’t negotiate.
The state Bond Commission is expected to meet soon to dole hundreds of millions of dollars for capital projects.
“It’s nearly impossible to attract appropriate development to a site that has the scars that this one does,” Malloy said Monday in Hartford.
The state has already spent money that was authorized in 2012 to assess the issues with the site.
Since 2012, the state has invested more than $220 million in brownfield redevelopment, resulting in the creation of more than 3,000 permanent jobs and over 15,000 construction jobs, according to state officials.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said the city is focused on jobs and they’ve been having conversations with employers who are looking to put jobs in the city and are struggling to find land.
“In order to take advantage of interest that’s out there you’ve got to be able to offer a cleaned up site,” Bronin said.
The $1.9 million will help do just that.
The grant is to demolish and remediate the three properties, including the former metal foundry manufacturing facility.
“There are a dozen” similar properties in the city that need to be cleaned up, Bronin said, “but this was way up there on the list.”
Bronin said often times it’s tough to get a site cleaned up without someone willing to invest in the property. He said this money will help make it an available site for development that they can market to a potential buyer.
Gov. Malloy and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin talk about plans for blighted property.
Posted by CTNewsJunkie.com on Monday, November 20, 2017
