$5M in brownfield redevelopment grants available
The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) is accepting applications for $5 million in competitive grants to remediate and redevelop brownfield sites.
Since 2012, the state has invested $173 million to investigate, clean up, and revitalize more than 100 old or vacant factories, mills, warehouses and other contaminated sites and structures.
The funding will be made available under the Connecticut Brownfield Remediation Program. Municipalities and economic development agencies are eligible.
Repurposing these properties so that they add value and boost local economies instead of draining resources is the goal, said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
"Brownfield remediation and redevelopment is a priority of our administration because of its environmental, economic, community, and fiscal benefits," Malloy said in a statement.
Awards may be used for a range of brownfield assessment, remediation and redevelopment activities, including abatement, demolition, site investigation and assessment, and more.
All projects will be rated and ranked by an inter-agency committee based on criteria that includes financial need, project feasibility, economic and community impact, responsible growth and livability initiatives, and applicant capacity and experience.
To apply, visit the state website at www.ctbrownfields.gov. Applications are due Nov. 16.
New Haven’s Wooster Square residents get details on State Street development
NEW HAVEN >> Wooster Square residents seemed pleased Wednesday with a proposal to change State Street to a two-way road where the median divider would be removed, allowing for additional land for development sites along its eastern border.
The proposal is the latest iteration put together by Boston-based Utile Architecture and Planning for the design portion and Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates for the transportation end. It is being paid for with a $125,000 grant for planning transit-oriented development. Wooster Square soon will be in the middle of a housing boom when more than 500 apartments are built as part of developments by Noel Petra and, separately, Spinnaker Residential. Live Work Learn Play is also planning an additional 1,000 units at the former Veterans Memorial Coliseum site, although that project is being delayed over utility and road construction complications that are still being worked out. Tim Love of Utile had several options for State Street, but the one they favored would turn it into more of a city road, rather than arterial with cars rushing to the Interstate 91 highway entrance. The meeting — the second of three planned with the public — was again held at the Conte School. The favored proposal for State Street also would feature a cycle track on each side of the street and creation of a linear park where State Street now diverts behind the Knights of Columbus Museum. This would make the street a primary bicycle and pedestrian connection for the greenway to Long Wharf.
It would transform State Street to two-way from Water to Chapel Street and fix the Union Avenue and Water Street intersection.The parking lots along State Street abutting the rail cut would be wide enough for residential development if the medians are removed, with parking spaces behind the housing. These buildings would be mid-rise apartments, limited to 65 feet in height, and could accommodate 330 units, according to the proposal. The changes would reduce the speed of the traffic, but not the capacity of the roadway, Love said. The proposal also suggested redesigning Russo Park for active events, treating it as more of a plaza with lush landscaping and benches that would improve the connection to Wooster Square Park.The designers suggested curb extensions for wider sidewalks at the intersection of Grand Avenue and State Street with on-street parking incorporated on both sides of State Street. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New Haven, developer finally sign deal on Hill neighborhood parcels
NEW HAVEN >> It was a long, rocky road, but a deal to develop parcels in the Hill neighborhood that have languished for decades was signed Wednesday outside a former school that will be converted to housing. Smiling faces and talk of trust replaced the tension and multiple near-misses ever since Randy Salvatore’s $100 million plan for housing and commercial development on lots near Yale Medical School first became public in August 2015.
Salvatore will pay the city $1.2 million for the closed Welch Annex School on Prince Street and the former Prince Annex School around the corner on Gold Street, as well as for several other lots which eventually could be used for retail, commercial or more residential development, on a total 11.6 acres. Welch Annex, which originally was St. Anthony’s School, will be renovated to 100 units of housing, while the building on Gold Street, which borders the park on Amistad Street, will have 40 apartments. A total of 30 percent of the 140 apartments will be affordable, with Salvatore and the city looking for state and federal assistance, including the potential use of historic tax credits. On Wednesday, Salvatore and Mayor Toni Harp signed a Development and Land Use Agreement that gives control of the 11.6 acres to Salvatore, president and CEO of RMS Companies in Stamford. Separately there is a side agreement that provides assurance to St. Anthony’s Church, which backs up to the Welch Annex School, that its parking needs for church functions will be accommodated.
Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson said Salvatore “brings ... an energy that we really think is exactly what New Haven needs. ... I think he will be one of the great transformative developers going forward.” Salvatore said he was confident his development will activate the neighborhood, connect it to the downtown and the train station, and provide opportunities for new companies to locate there. “I do not take this responsibility lightly,” Salvatore said of bringing the proposal to life. Harp said “repurposing this property is a giant step forward toward continuing growth, economic prosperity and progress for this city and for all who depend upon it.” The deal is the first concrete advancement based on the Hill to Downtown Plan, which Serena Neal-Sanjurjo has worked on since 2012 after an estimated 40 to 50 meetings, according to Nemerson. More community input later ensued over what percentage of the proposed housing should be affordable and the community benefits that would accrue to the neighborhood. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE