Governor Rell: State Applying for $2.3 Million

In Stimulus Funds for Economic Development

Grants Would Develop Brownfields for Business

and Open Space for Public Recreation Projects

Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that the state is applying for $2.3 million in federal stimulus funds for a number of statewide projects that will rehabilitate contaminated property or “brownfields” to attract and retain business and create jobs.

“The benefits extend far beyond the construction and site-work jobs needed for the cleanup of these idled properties. We want to give businesses a great reason to move in, put down roots and pump money back into local economies,” Governor Rell said.

The Governor said the funds would be added to the state’s brownfield revolving loan fund, which is administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development. The DECD formally requested the funds today from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

            The projects targeted for funding range from developing a site for an elevator manufacturer in Bridgeport to helping the city of Norwich attract businesses to its riverfront by rehabilitating former industrial sites.

Some of the stimulus funds also would be used to develop open space for public outdoor recreation, such as a whitewater park in Willimantic and hiking trails and athletic fields at an old orchard in Berlin.

“We know brownfield rehabilitation pays dividends both economically and environmentally. These stimulus funds provide a tremendous opportunity to support those projects,” Governor Rell said.

             List of local projects targeted for funding are:

• Bridgeport - $300,000 for the Bridgeport Economic Resource Center to remediate  a site for the relocation of Columbia Elevator
• Bridgeport - $300,000 for the city’s Port Authority to prepare property on Seaview Avenue for Derecktor Shipyards
• Middletown - $300,000 to help the city complete remediation at the Remington Rand site for expansion of the small business incubator and to assist the city in  attracting other tenants to the property
• Montville - $230,000 for the town to remediate a former mill in order to retain the manufacturing firm, Impulse Design, and potentially add more tenants
• Norwich - $300,000 to help the city clean up and rehabilitate a portion of the riverfront property on Shipping Street for future mixed-use development
• Manchester- $400,000 loan for Cheney Dye House LLC for remediation on a former “Cheney Mill” property as part of a housing development project
• Willimantic - $300,000 for the non-profit White Water Partnership to develop a riverfront site for recreational canoeing, kayaking and similar sports
• Berlin - $200,000 to help the town redevelop the former Kensington Orchards into an outdoor park with athletic fields, hiking trails and greenways

      This is a competitive grant application program that is open to more than 150 existing revolving loan fund grantees.   The program will distribute a total of $40 million nationwide. Funding and individual site eligibility will be determined by the EPA.

For more information on these grants and the AARA in Connecticut go to: www.ct.gov and click on the CT Recovery link.