Waterbury in line for $3.1M grant to cleanup polluted factory site

State officials are offering the City of Waterbury $3.1 million to help clear away a ruined industrial complex at the site of the former Waterbury Button Co. factory along South Main Street, one of the city’s worst industrial eyesores.

The city’s Board of Aldermen, on Monday, is expected to sign off on conditions of the $3.1 million grant through the state’s Urban Sites Remedial Action Program.

The bond funding can be used to investigate and clean the 2.5-acre, city-owned property at 835 South Main St., preparing it for redevelopment, according to a memo to aldermen from Waterbury Development Corp. Executive Director Thomas Hyde.

The site was a center of manufacturing that used various metals and plastics from 1812 into the 1970s. A preliminary investigation in 2016 identified a dozen contaminants, including PCBs, volatile organic compounds, lead, mercury and others.

The industrial complex on the site had been falling apart for decades before a 2023 fire forced an emergency demolition of remaining structures.

The sign-off by the Board of Aldermen, on Monday, will allow Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski to close on the state funding. 

Hyde, on Friday, said the state grant is expected to be largely spent on finishing demo work and clearing debris from the site. The city will either seek additional grants or a partnership with a developer to clean polluted soils, he said. 

Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said the site could eventually host commercial development, housing or a mix of uses. But it will take time and additional infusions of funding, he acknowledged.

Over the past decade, Waterbury has spent a great deal of energy tackling its backlog of abandoned industrial sites. These large industrial complexes, once engines of prosperity, had become unsightly firetraps that attracted illegal dumping and other crimes, including arson. The city has made much headway in clearing blighted structures. It has proven a challenge to get many back into productive use. 

“The key is to be persistent and patient and keep your eye on the goal,” Pernerewski said. 

Clearing the site will help a separate project to straighten the nearby intersection of Washington Avenue, Washington Street and South Main Street. That project will push a section of Washington Street through 835 South Main St. This will allow large trucks to negotiate the intersection and aid the city’s efforts to find a new user for the former Anamet manufacturing site, which is located at one corner of the intersection.