Waterbury Development Corp. is applying for $9.1 million in state funding to remediate several brownfields in the Mad River Redevelopment Corridor.
The grant should be enough to cover cleanup efforts for three adjacent South End properties, according to Thomas Hyde, interim director of WDC.
Those properties include the former Waterbury Button Factory at 835 South Main St., which recently burned down; 698 South Main St., home to the sprawling Anamet factory, which has been mostly demolished, and a vacant property 272 River St. that previously housed a car repair shop.
The remediation work will prepare the sites for redevelopment, Hyde said.
“It’s really the last piece of the puzzle with regard to the remediation of the entire Mad River Redevelopment Corridor,” Hyde said Tuesday.
The city is finalizing plans for other nearby brownfield sites, including 777 South Main St. for an expansion of the Brass City Food Hub. A baseball field at 313 Mill St. — the former home of the Nova Dye factory — is nearly complete.
WDC will submit its grant application to the Community Investment Fund on Friday. The fund is a relatively new $875 million pot of money meant to foster economic development in historically underserved communities across the state.
The city expects to find out in September whether it received the money, Hyde said.
Waterbury has made significant progress replacing derelict factories and making other improvements to the South End. Recently, the city opened the 7-acre Platt Park along the Naugatuck River.
The land for the park was donated by Miriam Camp Niederman, who inherited it from her father, who ran Platts Bros. & Co. The park will be part of the Waterbury Greenway.
