Office Of State Senator Cathy Osten: Sen. Osten Welcomes State Grants To Clean Up Brownfields In Norwich & Hebron

Press release from the Office of State Senator Cathy Osten:

June 25, 2021

Press Aide: Lawrence Cook, 860-240-8609

State Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) today welcomed two state grants totaling more than $1 million that will be used to clean up or expand contaminated old brownfield sites in Norwich and Hebron and put them to new economic uses.

On Thursday, Governor Ned Lamont 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. The grants are from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation Program.

A $795,000 state grant has been awarded to the Norwich Community Development Corporation to remediate and renovate the former Ponemah Mills Textile Complex located at 555 and 575 Norwich Avenue, which will expand its mixed-use residential project by adding 141 units and 6,000 square feet of restaurant and business space.

A $245,520 state grant for remediation activities in Hebron will allow for the renovation of the former Amston Silver Company building, located at 459 Church Street. The site will be home to a restaurant, craft brewery and other commercial enterprises.

"Beginning around 1800, Connecticut developed a reputation as an industrial powerhouse, making clocks, guns, hardware, textiles, tools, bicycles, airplanes, helicopters and submarines. As time progressed, some of these factories went silent, but their bricks and mortar and sometimes their pollution remained. These state grants help turn those old buildings and old problems into new opportunities," Sen. Osten said. "No one is standing still in Connecticut or standing idly by. We are investing in our cities and towns to grow local businesses and local jobs. These brownfield grants are a great partnership between the state and its communities."

“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,” Gov. 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.”

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

This press release was produced by the Office of State Senator Cathy Osten. The views expressed here are the author’s own.