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EPA Gives Mystic Valley Development Commission $400,000 as Brownfields Showcase

Release Date: 10/11/2000
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Public Affairs Office, (617) 918-1042

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that the Mystic Valley Development Commission has received one of two Brownfields Showcase Communities awards in New England. As a recipient of this grant, the commission will receive $400,000 in technical and financial support to help in its efforts to address the future of abandoned, contaminated properties in Everett, Medford and Malden.

The showcase award includes $200,000 in grant funds and $200,000 to pay for a full time employee, who will work on brownfields redevelopment in the three communities.

"As the winner of a showcase community award, the Mystic Valley Development Commission will be able to draw on the knowledge and resources of more than a dozen government agencies, all dedicated to the revitalization of the region's industrial areas," said Mindy S. Lubber, Regional Administrator of EPA New England. "Putting vacant, contaminated buildings back into use will create jobs and recreational space, bringing back to life an area that once served as a vital economic center for these communities."

"The best made plans have now been rewarded," said Sen. John F. Kerry. "Out of the ashes of once neglected and contaminated soil and structures, Everett, Malden and Medford are on their way to creating a technology capital."

The Mystic Valley, once a corridor for chemical production, coal gasification and manufacturing, is now home to large numbers of vacant buildings where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived contamination.

The Mystic Valley Development Commission plans to reclaim 200 acres of blighted industrial land as part of a regional redevelopment project called TeleCom City. The goal of the project is to create 1.8 million square feet of office, research and development and manufacturing space, as well as to create a riverfront park for residents.

In the past, the Mystic Valley Development Commission has received a total of $850,000 in brownfields grants from EPA New England.

The other Brownfield Showcase Community award in New England was given to the City of New Bedford. A total of 12 new showcase community grants across the nation worth a total of $2.4 million were announced this week. This brings to 28 the total number of Brownfields Showcase Communities nationwide.

EPA has awarded a total of $38.1 million in Brownfields grants to towns and cities in New England and $18.4 million to communities in Massachusetts since its Brownfields Initiative began in 1995.