Contact:
Nate Formalarie, Communications Director
Agency of Commerce and Community Development
nate.formalarie@vermont.gov
AGENCY OF COMMERCE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF $10M FOR BROWNFIELDS CLEAN-UP GRANTS
Montpelier, VT - The Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) announced applications are now being accepted for the Brownfield Revitalization Fund. This program was previously announced by Governor Phil Scott as part of Act 74, which appropriated $25,000,000 in General Fund dollars to ACCD and the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to provide organizations with assistance in characterizing and cleaning-up brownfields across the state.
The Act appropriated $11,000,000 to ACCD; $10,000,000 of which will be used by ACCD to make clean-up awards to brownfield sites that can show transformational economic development outcomes, particularly in the areas of commercial development and housing. The remaining $1,000,000 will be provided to the State’s Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs) to complete future brownfield site assessments and support corrective action plan development.
“ACCD is calling for those Brownfield clean-up projects that will deliver the most impressive economic impacts; sites that, once remediated, will set the redevelopment stage for new housing units, job-creation, commercial activity, and increased property values,” said ACCD Secretary Lindsay Kurrle. “This General Fund investment will be transformative as underutilized, vacant, and contaminated properties state-wide are returned to a productive reuse.”
“Brownfields often take the form of vacant lots and abandoned buildings in our community cores that have the potential to be repurposed into affordable housing, commercial space and civic uses,” said ANR Secretary Julie Moore. “By cleaning up these parcels and thoughtfully repurposing them, we will encourage compact development in our downtowns and villages, restore Vermont’s land and water, protect our environment from unnecessary sprawl, and provide new places for people to live and work.”
The program will be overseen by the Vermont Department of Economic Development and offer grants of up to 90% of the costs of remediating a site. The application requires an outline of the benefits of cleaning-up the specified site together with a projection of the jobs, housing units and other economic development metrics that the project is expected to deliver. Projects with an approved Corrective Action Plan (CAP) already in place will be prioritized for funding.
“This program represents the State’s largest investment of General Fund dollars dedicated to cleaning up brownfield sites,” said Joan Goldstein, Commissioner for the Department of Economic Development.
Full details of the program, including the Notice of Funding Opportunity, FAQs and the on-line application form can be found on the Brownfield Revitalization Fund page.
Questions from potential applicants can be sent to: accd.brownfieldsteam@vermont.gov
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