With a towering pile of demolition debris as a backdrop, Waterbury city and state officials announced on Thursday a key milestone in the process of cleaning up the site of the former Anaconda American Brass factory.
“We’re here to announce another substantial step in Waterbury’s reinvention,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said at a morning press conference, held to celebrate a $2 million state grant. The funds will go towards demolition of a last structure and removing the garbage mountain at the center of the 14-acre property, at 130 Freight St.
Plans for the site after cleanup include a mixed-used development with light or advanced manufacturing and mixed-income housing with market-rate units. The property is only a third of a mile from the Waterbury train station. The timeline on new construction depends on how long the cleanup will take, which depends on the extent of environmental work needed.
Bysiewicz described the cleanup as “a win for our environment, a win for the Waterbury community — new jobs coming here and a new property back on the tax rolls.”
A previous state grant funded the first part of the cleanup, the teardown of nine derelict buildings that were once part of the factory complex. The money ran out before the unsightly pile of wreckage could be removed and before the last building — a crumbling hulk at 00 West Main — could be demolished.
The Waterbury Brass Company first opened on the property 180 years ago. After brass manufacturing in the city ended, the site was home to a hazardous waste disposal company until about 50 years ago.
“The only way to get these cities back up and strong is to get rid of these legacy brownfields and put them back on the tax rolls and create jobs,” Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary said. He estimated that the debris and demolition work would begin by this fall.
DECD Deputy Commissioner Alexandra Daum speaks Thursday at the announcement of a grant to clean up the former Anaconda American Brass factory in Waterbury. Back row, from left: Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and state Rep Geraldo Reyes (D-75).
Another notorious brownfield in the city, the former Anamet manufacturing complex along the Naugatuck River, will also get $2 million in state funding to complete demolition, O’Leary said.
“This is part of this very ambitious brownfields cleanup program that the governor and I are committed to,” Bysiewicz said. “We’re investing $19 million in these projects [statewide] because it’s going to draw $156 million in private investment to redevelop, remake and reinvent these properties.” (The state has estimated a return of eight times the investment on cleaning up brownfields.)
DECD Deputy Commissioner Alexandra Daum said: “We’re thrilled to have a site with so much potential so close to transit. It will be a lot more vibrant and liveable and walkable when this site is not a pile.”
The derelict brass factories that made the Brass City are a bittersweet legacy, said Paul Pernerewski, Jr., president of the Waterbury Board of Alderman.
“These were prime properties. These are what made Waterbury such a great place and gave so many of so many opportunities,” Pernerewski said. “They’ve become an albatross around our neck.”
O’Leary points to recent success in revamping industrial sites for new uses that now net revenue for the city. He sees great potential in property on Freight Street, a central roadway that was recently upgraded with utilities, gas and sewer to the highest standards thanks to a federal grant.
“We’re very excited about these pieces, quite honestly, there’s a lot of interest in these pieces,” O’Leary said of the property. “We’re in the business of cleaning up the city.”
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
