Sen. Hartley, Rep. Pizzuto Welcome $10 Million for Waterbury’s Freight Street Corridor Redevelopment
Sen. Hartley, Waterbury Delegation Welcomes $10 Million for Waterbury’s Freight Street Corridor Redevelopment
Today, state Senator Joan Hartley (D-Waterbury, Naugatuck, and Middlebury) and the Waterbury delegation welcomed the Community Investment Fund 2030 board’s approval of $10 million toward the City of Waterbury’s Freight Street Corridor Redevelopment Project. The funding would be utilized for finalizing demolition and remediation activities at three separate parcels – together around 20 acres in the city’s West End – to support the long-term goal to spur new mixed-use transit-oriented redevelopment and extend Waterbury’s downtown.
The Community Investment Fund 2030 is a five-year grant program, enacted in the 2021 legislative session, dedicated to fostering economic development in communities that have been historically underserved. Eligible projects under the program include brownfield remediation, small business support programs, and infrastructure. More information about the program can be found at the Community Investment Fund website.
“This funding approved in the inaugural round of the Community Investment Fund will enable the city to boost the completion of a reimagined Freight Street District culminating in hundreds of mixed-used and commercial jobs in a previously blighted and abandoned industrial wasteland. My thanks to the Community Investment Fund board and especially the Waterbury delegation and Mayor O’Leary for their superb team-work in securing this funding,” said Sen. Hartley.
“Investments in the infrastructure of our community are also investments in the people who live, work and visit, and I’d like to thank the Community Investment Fund for including Waterbury in this round of grants,” Rep. Bill Pizzuto said. “Cleaning up blighted properties and revitalizing the Freight Street area has been a priority for the city and these grants will help continue the good work being done by Mayor O’Leary and Waterbury’s Public Works Department.”
Waterbury’s Democratic delegation in the House, State Representatives Larry Butler, Michael DiGiovancarlo, Ron Napoli and Geraldo Reyes, said of the funding approval: “This funding supports long-term economic development in Waterbury, including hundreds of jobs, and jump starts the revitalization of the Freight Street Corridor. Twenty acres in the Waterbury’s West End will be open to redevelopment after years of blight and neglect, which will extend downtown and complement the recent state, local, and federal investment in the heart of the city. Our deepest thanks to the Community Investment Fund 2030 Board for its approval and recognition, Sen. Hartley’s joint advocacy and Mayor O’Leary and his team for working to secure this vital funding.”
The approved $10 million would be used for activities to revitalize three city-owned properties along the Freight Street Corridor:
- Remediation: 130 Freight Street, 000 West Main Street, and 170 Freight Street
- Demolition: 170 Freight Street
The implementation of this project has the potential to enhance local and regional transportation infrastructure – along with the accompanying jobs – in a part of city’s West End that is underutilized and blighted. Additionally, it will complement the numerous improvements made to the nearby Waterbury Branch Line, the rail line’s downtown station and Waterbury’s downtown overall through state, local, and federal investment.
These upgrades and development include but not limited to an expanded train station parking lot, enhanced lighting at the train station, installation of signalization on the Waterbury Branch Line, the reconstruction of Freight Street as a complete street, and a bicycle side path connecting the Naugatuck River to the downtown.