The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $900,000 in grants for clean-up of revitalization projects in Greater Springfield.
The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded grants for clean-up of revitalization projects in Greater Springfield, including Union Station, seen here.SPRINGFIELD – The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $900,000 for clean-up and revitalization projects in Greater Springfield.
At a news conference outside the long-dormant Union Station, the agency announced a $400,000 cleanup grant for the Union Station redevelopment project and a $500,000 grant for to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission for a revolving loan fund.
The funding is part of more than $76 million in so-called brownfield investments made recently by the agency nationwide to protect the health and the environment, create jobs and promote economic redevelopment, said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of the environmental protection agency’s New England office.
The brownfield funding is designed to reclaim old textile mills, sites containing hazardous substance and petroleum produces, as well as contaminated waste sites, Spalding said.
U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal said he was pleased with the award, especially given its timing. “As central and Western Massachusetts begins to rebuild following the devastating twister that affected 19 communities, I can think of no better timing for this funding,” Neal said.
“As we progress with Union Station, our city is becoming an even better place to live, work and visit,” he added.
The former railroad station on Frank B. Murray Street was built in 1926 and has been abandoned since 1973.
A $70 million reconstruction project is set to begin in the summer of 2012, a scaled-down version of a more elaborate, $115 million plan that foundered when the Federal Transit Authority froze funding amid an audit and corruption investigation at the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, the agency overseeing the project.
No criminal charges were filed , and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority has been given responsibility of running the project.