(The Center Square) – Thirteen communities in Massachusetts will benefit from a state investment in redeveloping brownfields.
The Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said, will disperse $2,612,740 to clean up and redevelop brownfields across the state
The Environmental Protection Agency defines a brownfield as “a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”
“The Brownfields Redevelopment Fund supports cities and towns by advancing the clean-up of environmentally compromised sites that can be costly to redevelop,” Gov. Charlie Baker said in a release.
MassDevelopment, according to the release, administers the brownfields fund and said the funding will be used to transform vacant, abandoned, or underused industrial or commercial properties through financing environmental assessments and remediation.
Since its inception in 1998, according to the release, the program has invested more than $114 million in 778 projects.
“This important state resource helps our local partners breathe new life into underused properties to support housing and job creation,” Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, who serves as chairman of MassDevelopment’s Board of Directors, said in a release. “We’re proud to deliver $2,612,740 for 13 projects across the commonwealth this year and help our cities and towns make way for economic growth.”
The brownfields program, according to the release, is a portion of the state’s Community One Stop for Growth, which involves a single application portal that provides a streamlined, collaborative review process for 12 state grant programs seeking economic development project funding.
The latest round of funding from the organization, according to the release, stands at more than $143 million that supported 337 projects in 169 communities. The organization received 523 applications from 207 communities.
Of the awards, Brockton will receive $250,000 to stabilize and market a property at 11-15 Frederick Douglas Ave. for commercial development. Belchertown will also receive $250,000 to remediate land around the Carriage Grove Power Plant, and Fitchburg will receive $250,000 to remove 1,000 cubic yards of soil, dewatering, soil stabilization, and relate site work at 80 Lunenburg St. that will be transitioned into housing.
