The Board of Aldermen has approved an agreement between the city, Waterbury Development Corp. and environmental engineering firm Tighe & Bond, kicking off the investigation process for the city-owned 170 Freight St. property, part of a broader plan by the city to revitalize the downtown area. With the agreement, Tighe & Bond now have 180 days to complete their initial investigation of the 170 Freight St. property. This will be followed by preparation for the demolition, then the actual demolition itself, and the subsequent cleanup, said Thomas Hyde, interim director of Waterbury Development Corp. For all three properties to become ready for development, the timeline may be extended significantly longer, due to the Environmental Protection Agency considering the some of area a hazardous site under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, requiring the city to apply for a stewardship permit, a process which can take up to a year, Hyde said. Funding for the project comes from a $200,000 grant the city received from the Connecticut Department of Economic Community Development (DECD), as well as money from the $10 million the city received from the state’s Community Investment Fund, spreading across all three sites.
Agreement approval moves forward plan to revitalize Waterbury