SENATOR OSTEN WELCOMES $100,000 STATE GRANT FOR REMEDIAL ACTION PLAN AT FORMER NORWICH STATE HOSPITAL

NORWICH – State Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) today welcomed a $100,000 state grant to help complete a remedial action plan for removing hazardous materials at the former 50-acre Norwich State Hospital site in Norwich.

“When you combine today’s $100,000 grant with the $250,000 in Community Investment Fund money that we got back in March, I think it’s fair to say that Norwich is well on its way to redeveloping not just a valuable parcel of unused, abandoned space, but to creating a new gateway to the entire city on the south side of town,” said Sen. Osten. “The impact of this grant and this development is huge when you considerate it in the context the Preston Riverwalk development, the potential rehabilitation of the waste to energy plant, and the work to be done on the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge.”

Norwich received a $100,000 state grant for the Norwich Community Development Corporation (NCDC) for the assessment of the former Norwich State Hospital, located at 628 and 705 Laurel Hill Road. The grant will enable the NCDC to complete a Phase III ESA, along with a conceptual remedial action plan, structural assessment, hazardous building materials assessment, and estimates of remediation, abatement, and cleanup costs. The NCDC is looking to renovate the property in concert with the neighboring Preston Riverwalk Development.

The Norwich grant is just one 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.”