Since 2008, , a victim of the five-schools-to-three consolidation and a burden to the taxpayer.
But Friday afternoon, the town finally received some good news on the property they’ve been trying to sell for years. In a press release, Gov. Dannel Malloy announced that Waterford is receiving a $457,500 grant for environmental remediation on the site, pending bond commission approval, a step town officials have said is necessary to sell the property.
“Cleaning up Connecticut brownfields is an important component of our economic development agenda,” Malloy said in the release. “Investing in these redevelopment efforts is smart policy—we create jobs and thriving communities, expand our tax base, and clean up pollution in Connecticut.”
Background
The town applied for a federal grant in 2011 to , while developer Terry Mitchell applied for another federal grant to build a 54-unit apartment building for low-income senior housing. Both were rejected.
The town later applied for the state grant for remediation to turn the property into a mixed-use development, containing both senior or disabled housing and medical offices. On Friday, Malloy announced that Waterford would receive the grant, pending bond commission approval.
Patch contacted First Selectman Dan Steward Friday afternoon. Steward said he had just heard about the approval that day, did not know all the details, and said he didn’t have enough information to comment.
What Now
The money will be used to demolish the buildings and clean up the property, making it immediately buildable and far more marketable. The town has had some interest in people buying the property, but nothing is close to being final, Steward said.
