FAIRFIELD, CT — A 4.9-acre former industrial site in Fairfield will receive a $3 million state grant for environmental clean up, Gov. Ned Lamont announced this week.
The site at 81 Black Rock Turnpike is the former home of the Bullard Machine Tool Company, an industrial manufacturer. It is thought to contain contaminated soil.
It slated to become a transit-oriented, mixed-use development which will include 240 residential units in addition to ancillary retail, co-working and public amenity space. The parcel is one of 22 properties in 15 towns to receive a grant under the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program.
Brownfields are properties, often abandoned or underused, that may contain contaminated soil, buildings and/or groundwater. Redevelopment of such sites can not happen before the contaminated material is remediated.
“It makes no sense to have old, polluted, blighted properties sitting vacant for decades when we could be using this land to grow new businesses and create new housing,” Lamont said in a statement. “This state program enables us to partner with municipalities and developers to bring these lifeless properties back from the dead.”
Mark Barnhart, Fairfield’s director of Community & Economic Development, told Patch that he is appreciative of the state stepping up to help municipalities remediate such sites.
The state is spending about $23.8 million to remediate a total of 480 acres of land under the program.
“This is obviously terrific news, as this brownfield site has sat forlorn and vacant for more than a decade, despite its close proximity to a new commuter rail station,” Barnhart said. “The costs associated with cleaning up sites like this one are often a major impediment to their successful reuse, and poses risks to any developer. We are fortunate to be working with a local development team that has considerable experience with redeveloping brownfield sites, and we look forward to moving ahead with the project, thanks to the State’s funding support.”
Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick agreed, telling Patch that she is pleased that the town received the grant.
“I’m very grateful for the efforts of Mark Barnhart and the town’s new grant coordinator, Teri Brown, who worked together to obtain this competitive grant that will help clean up a long blighted and contaminated piece of property that has been a priority for my administration,” she said.
The Fairfield project is being developed by Post Road Residential, which offices in downtown Fairfield. It is the company that developed The Anchorage, a 90-unit luxury housing complex at 333 Unquowa Road in Fairfield.
From Lamont’s announcement:
The selected projects are targeted at those that will boost economic development and job growth, as well as those that will aid in the development of new housing. In total, the projects are expected to create approximately 915 jobs and 811 units of housing, including 223 affordable units. Sixty-one percent of the funding ($14,540,477) is being directed to distressed municipalities, where developable land is often scarce and economic revitalization efforts take on added importance.
“Our brownfields program is one the best returns on investment for the state and its taxpayers,” Department of Economic and Community Development Deputy Commissioner Rob Hotaling said. “In this funding round, for example, we have a public-private leverage ratio of 1-to-36, which means that for every state dollar invested another 36 dollars in private funds are supporting these worthwhile projects. These investments are helping us meet other important public policy objectives as well. For example, this round features important green energy and waste reclamation projects that are another step forward in reaching our broader environmental goals.”
For more information on Connecticut’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program, visit ctbrownfields.gov.
