It's not everyday that you get to have lunch with the Governor, but that's just what happened to two Verdantas consultants from our Middletown, Connecticut office.
Amy Pond and Jeff King (Verdantas) were invited to join Ned Lamont, Governor of Connecticut, along with a group of VIP's to tour and lunch at Vinny’s Pizza & Italian Restaurant, a former manufacturing building on East Elm Street in Torrington, Connecticut. The governor’s visit showcased the City’s efforts to use brownfield remediation grants to clean up blighted properties and help businesses establish themselves in the remediated buildings.
Vinny’s will receive a $1 million brownfield grant for a banquet hall expansion project, part of a recently announced $18 million in funding for similar projects around the state of Connecticut. Verdantas developed the application and the plan for remediation that supported this brownfield grant.
”The redevelopment process can be daunting for a lot of individuals and communities. We’re eager to work with clients and be part of their team to help them achieve their goals," says Jeff King, Senior Associate at Verdantas.
Amy Pond, Senior Professional Staff at Verdantas adds, "It's great to see our neighbors and local communities find value again in underutilized properties. We're happy to help them tackle the brownfield grant and remediation planning process."
Next steps for this project will be to finalize the building renovation and abatement plans and to initiate the construction of the restaurant and banquet hall. The brownfields grant also allows the property owner to address other environmental impacts related to the historical industrial operations. These activities are required to meet Connecticut environmental regulations.
Pictured are Amy Pond, LEP, Gov. Ned Lamont, and Jeff King, LEP
In addition to Governor Lamont, Amy and Jeff were joined by Torrington Mayor Elinor Carbone and Alexandra Daum, Deputy Commissioner of the State Department of Economic Development, Connecticut State Rep. Michelle Cook, D-Torrington; Torrington Economic Development Director Rista Malanca; and several members of the Torrington City Council.
About Brownfields Program
The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program provides grants and technical assistance to communities, states, tribes and others to assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse contaminated properties. Eligible projects could address old schools, former warehouses, closed factories, or abandoned or underutilized commercial properties, among others. An Assessment Grant could fund a Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments to help understand current environmental conditions on the properties and to make plans for cleanup or redevelopment. A Remediation Grant could fund acquisition, asbestos abatement, and environmental cleanup.
If you have an underutilized property, our team can assist you with evaluating whether a brownfields grant could be used to help return the property to beneficial use. This program is getting a significant boost through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. We understand this program well, as Verdantas has served as the lead environmental consultant for implementation of more than 80 U.S. EPA brownfields assessment and cleanup grant projects working with over 40 communities. Contact us to get started.
