Redding, Connecticut, is receiving a $1.9 million federal grant to clean up a contaminated former industrial site that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The former Gilbert and Bennett Wire Mill occupies 44 acres of prime real estate in Redding’s Georgetown Village. It had been abandoned for the past 35 years, and is now owned by the town.
First Selectman Julia Pemberton said the federal grant from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure law is in addition to $400,000 the project had already received in state funding over the past couple of years.
"The money is to be used for brownfield remediation," Pemberton said. “It’s the first visible progress that people would be able to see. So, it's huge.”
Redding has a five-year plan to clean up the site for mixed-use development.
“In five years, we want to have open-park space, to be able to get people in to create some parking for the village. And to have buildings that we can also rent and bring in additional income for the town,” she said.
The property is contaminated with hazardous materials and petroleum products from a century of former factory operations at the site.
