SENATOR CABRERA WELCOMES $600,000 IN STATE GRANTS TO ASSESS THREE VALLEY PROPERTIES

State Senator Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) today welcomed $600,000 in state grants to help assess three vacant sites in the Naugatuck Valley to help them return to public usefulness.

“Connecticut continues to spend money and invest in its communities when it comes to brownfield remediation. We are getting old, unused properties cleaned up and back into productivity, and I’m proud to have advocated for these grants in the 17^th State Senate District,” said Sen. Cabrera.

-Ansonia received a $200,000 grant for the assessment of the 4.21-acre site located at 35 and 65 Main Street, the former Farrel Ansonia Facility that has been vacant since 2018. These assessment activities will enable the city to determine the best use for the site.

-Derby received a $200,000 grant to further evaluate site conditions and planning activities for the O’Sullivan’s Island (OSI) property at Caroline Street, a 17.25-acre peninsula of land located south of the downtown commercial district at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. The former regional fire training center is now part of the Naugatuck River Greenway and accessible to the public as a park. The assessment and planning activities will enable the city to further investigate the site to address previously identified contamination and open up the property for additional recreational activities.

-Naugatuck received a $200,000 grant for assessment work on the 36.2-acre site that was formerly a Hershey & Peter Paul Cadbury manufacturing site. This assessment will enable the site to be returned to productive use after 18 years of vacancy.

The Valley grants are three of the $18.8 million in state grants that Governor Ned Lamont announced today that will be used for the assessment and remediation of 227 acres of contaminated land across Connecticut. The funding will support 23 properties in 19 towns and cities, helping cover the costs of cleaning up these parcels so they can be redeveloped and returned to productive use.

The grants are being released through the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s (DECD) Brownfield Remediation and Development Program. This round of funding is projected to attract $218 million in private investment and facilitate the creation of 450 housing units.

“Old, polluted, blighted properties that have sat vacant for decades do nothing to stimulate our economy, grow jobs, and support housing growth,” Governor Lamont said. “With these grants, we are partnering with towns and developers to take unused, lifeless properties and bring them back from the dead, rejuvenating land that can be used for so much more and can bring value back to these neighborhoods.”