Governor Lamont Announces Funding to Remediate 31 Blighted Properties in 23 Towns and Cities and Put Them Back Into Productive Use

Press Release

(HARTFORD, CT) -- Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration is awarding more than $19 million in state grants to help with the costs of assessing and remediating 31 blighted properties in 23 towns and cities across Connecticut for the purposes of putting them back into productive use.

"Cleaning up blighted properties that have been vacant for decades and putting them into productive use will ultimately generate back many more times the amount of these grants through private investments," Governor Lamont said. "If we remediate these properties now, we can turn an eyesore into an asset, revitalize neighborhoods, and transform otherwise unusable property into new space for businesses and residents."

The grants are from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development's Brownfield Remediation Program. The funding from the state is expected to leverage approximately $156 million in private funding and help in the investigation and clean-up of approximately 418 acres of land.

"These investments in the remediation and assessment of contaminated sites are unlocking economic development opportunities all across Connecticut," Department of Economic and Community Development Deputy Commissioner Alexandra Daum said. "They will create jobs, foster small business growth, allow for new recreational spaces, and expand housing options for our residents -- all critical to building more vibrant communities and neighborhoods."

"The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is proud to work with DECD, other state agencies, and our municipal partners and nonprofit partners as we continue Connecticut's unprecedented investment in the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields in large cities, suburbs, and rural communities throughout the state," Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes said. "With the same spirit of Yankee ingenuity and innovation that made our state a leader of the industrial revolution, Connecticut continues to be a nationwide leader in transforming brownfields from a costly blight to an asset to communities throughout the state. Cleaning up and restoring brownfields is fundamentally important to strengthening our economy and to protecting human health and the environment."

Information about Connecticut's brownfield redevelopment program is available at www.ctbrownfields.gov.

The grants announced today include:

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