Opinion

Opinion

Collaborative Model Spurs Redevelopment



From historic mill buildings stretched along our rivers to vacant properties in our downtown centers, Massachusetts is home to challenging brownfields in need of critical redevelopment. Through our combined experiences working with local officials and promoting economic development, we are committed to revitalizing these contaminated sites to increase housing, business growth, and job creation across the Commonwealth.
Through a collaborative model known as the Brownfields Support Team (BST) Initiative, we are targeting brownfields cleanup and partnering with municipalities to transform once-stalled, blighted parcels into prime development opportunities. We are experiencing tremendous results, including an improved environment and regional economic growth.
First launched in 2008, the BST has coordinated 24 state, local, and federal agencies over the last several years to tackle some of the state’s most complex brownfields. By working closely with key stakeholders, including our partners in the state Legislature, we have delivered more than $18 million in funding to accelerate cleanup, streamline processes to overcome technical roadblocks, and reuse more than 300 acres of valuable property for community and economic development.
We have made great strides in each BST community thanks to the hard work and dedication of municipal leaders, including Mayor Domenic Sarno in Springfield and Mayor Michael Bissonnette in Chicopee. For example, Springfield’s Indian Orchard Park, consisting of 54 acres, was approved by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority to use 12 acres for a 2.2-megawatt solar-power-generating facility. The success of this collaborative approach in redeveloping the site was recognized at the Brownfields 2011 Conference Transaction Forum in Philadelphia.
In neighboring Chicopee, the former Facemate Property was designated in the second round of the BST. Since 2010, we have worked with the city to demolish unused property and help pave the way for mixed-use redevelopment. Construction began on the first phase of the new complex — now known as RiverMills at Chicopee Falls — earlier this year to create a 21,000-square-foot senior center.
Similar success is underway in other BST communities, including Worcester, Grafton, Fall River, and Haverhill, each designated in the first round of the BST initiative, and Gardner, Attleboro, Somerville, and Chelmsford, designated in the second round. We have also collaborated with the city of Brockton to assess a list of sites in need of redevelopment.
In both our leadership roles, we often hear about the need to balance environmental protection with economic development. Fortunately, these are not mutually exclusive goals. By increasing collaboration across state agencies and working with stakeholders, we have made brownfields reclamation a priority for the Patrick-Murray administration and the Commonwealth.
With local, state, and federal government working together, once-blighted and contaminated parcels are becoming launching pads for community renewal and business growth.
Massachusetts has been recognized nationally for the success of the BST model. Most recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency noted our strategy in redeveloping complex brownfields sites and awarded $6.75 million to Massachusetts.
This federal funding is a testament to the effective approach we are using in our communities, and we are extending the BST strategy to more cities and towns across Massachusetts. During Brownfields Month in November, sites in Ludlow, Fitchburg, Boston, Amesbury, and New Bedford were designated in the latest round of the BST Initiative.
We look forward to engaging more communities to transform brownfields into development-ready parcels and spur housing and job creation. With this strategy, we will continue to promote this partnership to help deliver long-term economic growth and environmental sustainability in Western Mass. and beyond.

Timothy P. Murray is lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. He launched the Brownfields Support Team Initiative in 2008 with Gov. Deval Patrick. Marty Jones is president and CEO of MassDevelopment, a key member of the Brownfields Support Team and administrator of the Commonwealth’s Brownfields Redevelopment Fund.