Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney, Senate Minority Leader Pro Tempore Len Fasano, and State Representative Dave Yaccarino today announced that the state of Connecticut has awarded a $194,100 grant to the town of North Haven to clean up a the blighted brownfield site at 400 Sackett Point – the former home of Circuit-Wise. The grant was requested by the Town of North Haven through First Selectman Mike Freda.
“This grant award would never had happened if not for the hard work and collaborative efforts of Senator Len Fasano, Senator Martin Looney and State Representative Dave Yaccarino,” said First Selectman Freda. “Their collaborative effort in securing this grant for us here in North Haven ties into a major economic development initiative that we have been working on for three years, and that is the restoration and reestablishing of the old Circuit Wise building to a productive new usage with a potential new tenant.”
“This smart, strategic plan will not only cleanup a polluted site but will bring new green jobs to North Haven,” said Senator Looney. “By helping cleanup brownfield sites like the old Circuit-Wise site, Connecticut is investing in revitalizing our local economy.”
The grant will fund an environmental investigation and assessment – a necessary step to meet the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) remediation standard regulations and enable the transfer of the site. The assessment will enable design and implementation of appropriate remedies to soil and groundwater impacts in accordance with state regulations.
“With the technology that exists today, an investment in brownfield remediation is good for our environment and good for our economy. That is especially the case with this project,” said Senator Fasano noting that Global Environmental Services has proposed building the area’s first LEED certified recycling materials recovery facility with food waste composting capacity on the site.
“This piece of land represents a great opportunity for our town and state,” said Representative Yaccarino. “The investment we are making now is small compared to the benefits we can reap in the future by improving the environment and creating more quality jobs.”
Phase I of the proposed project will create 35-50 jobs, phase II—build out of the construction and demolition materials handling system—will create between 70-100 news jobs.