Mayor Richard Kos and Director of Planning Lee Pouliot are proud to announce that the City of Chicopee has been awarded three $200,000 U.S. EPA grants for continued brownfields clean-up at the former Uniroyal property.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last Wednesday that these 3 grants are part of 17 awards totaling $4.92 million which will be given to communities across Massachusetts for brownfields site revitalization and technical assistance. The grants may be used for brownfield site assessments and clean up in redeveloping vacant and unused properties. A brownfield is defined by the U.S. EPA as a property for which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
The grants that Chicopee has received will be used toward the abatement of hazardous material at the former Uniroyal site.
Grant funds have been awarded for the following proposed cleanup projects:
Uniroyal Building #15 – The building encompasses approximately 23,987 square feet of vacant industrial space on four floors, not including the basement. The building’s footprint covers approximately 0.19 acres of property. Grant funds will be utilized to help remove hazardous building materials including asbestos, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and others in preparation for the building’s demolition.
Uniroyal Building #27 – The building encompasses approximately 199,050 square feet of vacant industrial space on six floors, not including the basement. The building’s footprint covers approximately 0.76 acres of property. Grant funds will be utilized to help remove hazardous building materials including asbestos, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and others in preparation for the City to pursue efforts for the building’s redevelopment.
Uniroyal Building #42 – The building encompasses approximately 267,450 square feet of vacant industrial space on six floors, not including the basement. The building’s footprint covers approximately 1.02 acres of property. Grant funds will be utilized to help remove hazardous building materials including asbestos, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and others in preparation for the building’s demolition.
“Congratulations to Lee and his team on their continued success on securing these much needed remediation funds,” said Mayor Kos.
To date, the City of Chicopee has received $2.4 million in EPA grants, with an additional $200,000 from the PVPC, for brownfield clean-up at the former Uniroyal and Facemate sites. Since 2009, eleven of the original 21 structures have been demolished and ten remain standing as of May 2017. In March, the City Council approved an appropriation request of $870,000 from the Office of Community Development and Planning Department for the continued work as the City prepares the site for redevelopment.
###