Mayor Salina: Town is Awarded Regional Brownfield Development Grant

The Town of Berlin has been awarded a $500,000 Regional Brownfield Development Grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development for the remediation and redevelopment of 889 Farmington Avenue. The grant will be used for demolition, hazardous material abatement and remediation to prepare the site for future development.

Commenting on the announcement, Berlin Mayor Adam Salina said, "889 Farmington Avenue is located next to the Town’s future Police Station and within 50 feet of the Berlin Train Station. The redevelopment of this property is a critical part of the Town’s effort to revitalize the area in the vicinity of the Train Station.  The grant will provide funds to demolish blighted buildings and to undertake environmental remediation to prepare the site for future development.

"I thank Governor Dannel Malloy and DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith for providing this grant to significantly assist the Town’s effort to create a vital Transit Oriented Development around Berlin’s train station in anticipation of the upcoming New Haven, Hartford, Springfield commuter and intercity rail project. When the remediation of the site is underway I anticipate that the Town will issue a request for developer proposals for future commercial or mixed use development of the property."

889 Farmington Avenue is a 1.65 acre site improved by two buildings, a 19,686 square foot building constructed in 1922 and a 5,376 square foot building constructed in 1940. The site is owned by the Town of Berlin and has been vacant since February 2010 when the Town took possession after taking title by foreclosure in September of 2009. The prior owner did not pay its taxes for many years and the site was environmentally contaminated.

After the Town completed the foreclosure, it removed all remaining barrels of waste. Subsequently it got United States Environmental Protection Agency funded grants from the Capitol Regional Council of Governments and the Metro Hartford Alliance to complete the phase II and III Environmental Site Assessments, and then it contracted for preparation of a Remedial Action Plan, hazardous materials assessment, geotechnical report and demolition cost estimate.

“Receipt of the Regional Brownfields Grant is a key milestone and it will allow the Town to remediate the site so that it can be redeveloped”, the Mayor said.

The Town is also making a significant related investment to acquire the 903 and 913 Farmington Avenue properties next door to 889 and to remove hazardous materials, demo the buildings and restore the site in anticipation of a new Police Station. The acquisition and site preparation cost of $2 million for 903 and 913 Farmington Avenue has already been bonded.