I
5
o
\
5
o
Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
New Haven, CT
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George
W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The City of New Haven was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. The city, with a population
of 128,000, is a federally designated Empowerment
Zone. The cleanup site, the Brewery Building, is an
architecturally significant property which serves as a
gateway from the city's central business district to the
Fair Haven neighborhood. The neighborhood, located
at the confluence of two rivers, has been a center of
industry since the early 19th Century. As industries
closed or moved away, they left behind abandoned and
underutilized structures in the midst of residential
neighborhoods, exacerbating unemployment and
contributing to the high poverty level in the area. Today,
the poverty rate in Fair Haven is 31 percent, 79
Cleanup Grant
120051
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of New Haven for a
brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be
used to conduct community outreach activities,
and remove and dispose of soils contaminated
with tetrachloroethylene and petroleum at the
Brewery Building on Grand Avenue. The facility,
which dates back to the late 1800s, has been used
by railroad companies, a smelting operation, the
state power company, and a brewery.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit
the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
brownfields.
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
617-918-1221
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/
Grant Recipient: City of New Haven, CT
203-946-5889
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
percent of residents are minorities, and less than five
percent of residents have a college degree. Cleanup of
the Brewery Building will help reduce the threat to
human health posed by the contamination at the site.
Redevelopment plans include renovating the entire
space for reuse as a home design center. The owner
expects to occupy two-thirds of the property for retail
use, employing 60 people, and attract other related
service providers to locate in the building. This project
is expected to bring much-needed jobs, training, and a
shopping outlet within walking distance for neighbor-
hood residents.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-006
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
------- |