by Thomas Grillo, Lynn Item (MA)

More than 20 years after a Western Avenue gas station closed and left a blighted lot behind, the city is hoping it will be the next location for much needed housing.

Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corp. (EDIC), the city's nonprofit development bank, has applied for a $200,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant to clean up the so-called brownfield site and make it safe for homes. Brownfields are abandoned contaminated commercial sites.

The saga began in 1988 when the Lynn J. Robert Corp. of Peabody and Jerome Sousa of North Hampton, N.H., acquired the 12,288-square-foot lot at no cost, according to the Southern Essex County Registry of Deeds. In 2012, the city seized the abandoned station for nonpayment of $2,296 in real estate taxes.

...

For the entire article, see

http://www.itemlive.com/news/a-lot-of-potential-on-western-avenue/

by Mia Summerson, Niagara Gazette (NY)

City residents offered primarily favorable comments regarding a development project proposed for a remediated Brownfield site on River Road. 

Rock One Development of Clarence has requested assistance from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency in the form of a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program to help them construct a 100-unit apartment and townhouse complex at 600 River Road.

Rock One owner Lou Visone said their research has shown that there is in an interest in waterfront housing in North Tonawanda. 

"Marketing studies have shown that people want to live on, or near, the water," he said. "It's the water that is the draw. They enjoy the canal system and the river system and the view." 
...

For the entire article, see
http://www.niagara-gazette.com/news/local_news/residents-praise-river-road-project/article_97bde501-295c-5185-a464-c49629d52430.html

by our colleagues at the Southern NJ Development Council

Urban enterprise zones that allow businesses to charge a reduced sales tax expired in five New Jersey cities Dec. 31, but legislation to renew them for two years still has a chance.

Gov. Chris Christie has until the end of the month to decide whether to sign the measure that would allow the UEZs in Newark, Camden, Trenton, Bridgeton, and Plainfield to continue and make the tax reduction retroactive to Jan. 1.

Established decades ago, the program sought to give an economic boost to struggling communities.

Michael Darcy, the executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said Tuesday the uncertainty is tough on businesses located in those zones. "They have to decide whether it may be more advantageous to relocate outside of the zone to an area that offers different benefits for their business," he said. "If these businesses do relocate, it then imposes a greater tax burden on other businesses and residents within the community as a whole."

That scenario is more likely to unfold in Camden and Trenton, according to Michael Cerra, assistant executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities.

by Nicholas Buonanno, Troy Record (NY)

The village could soon see new quality housing opportunities with a recent proposed 250 housing unit development near the Hudson River.

Sean Ward, who is the executive assistant to Green Island Mayor Ellen McNulty-Ryan, said that this proposal is for the south end of Center Island, closer to the Green Island Bridge. Peter Luizzi & Bros. Contracting of Albany is proposing the over $50 million development project in the village on Osgood Avenue.

Center Island does already have apartments on the north end of it, but this proposal would add over two-hundred housing units between Green Island and Troy.

"They are looking to build quality housing, along with nice quality life-amenities, such as a marina, offices, restaurants and shops on the southern tip of the island," explained Ward.

A few months ago, village officials submitted an application with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to accept the proposed project into the state Brownfield Cleanup Program.

...

For the entire article, see

http://www.troyrecord.com/general-news/20161220/200-plus-housing-units-proposed-for-green-island-brownfield

by Pamela MacKenzie, My Central Jersey

Public Service Electric & Gas, New Jersey's oldest and largest publicly owned utility, is about to bring a new solar farm online in Edison.

This solar array, which will produce 7.75 megawatts of power — enough to power 1,300 homes — is one of the last sites to come online in the current phase of the utility's Solar 4 All program. When completed, PSE&G will be generating nearly 125 megawatts of power through the Solar 4 All program, which includes arrays on utility poles in North, Central and South Jersey (40 megawatts) and other solar facilities on buildings, brownfields and other sites.

The new solar array, which has been under construction since June of 2016, is built on the old ILR landfill. It is PSE&G's second solar farm on a landfield or brownfield in Edison. The first was at the PSE&G-owned Silver Lake site at the foot of Silver Lake Avenue, which was polluted around the time of the Civil War.

...

For the entire article, see http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/how-we-live/2016/12/17/new-solar-farm-edison-comes-online-month/95331544/

Watertown Daily Times (NY)

Community leaders have been debating how to best use the land in Massena where General Motors once stood, an issue that requires serious contemplation.

St. Lawrence County previously received a Brownfield Opportunity Area grant from the New York Department of State to draft a plan for how to use the site. Since the GM plant closed, the property has undergone cleanup efforts to remove contaminated soil.

"The Massena Site Brownfield Opportunity Area Revitalization Plan (Massena BOA) process is building upon the substantial efforts of the North Country Revitalization Task Force, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and site owner RACER Trust to help transform the site into a community asset and a force in driving the recovery of the regional economy," according to information on the website for the Massena Site Brownfield Opportunity Area Revitalization Plan. "Since the closure of the former GM Massena plant in 2009, the North Country Revitalization Task Force has brought together municipalities (town of Massena, village of Massena, St. Lawrence County), St. Regis Mohawk tribal government, businesses, economic development agencies, organized labor and property owners to advance revitalization opportunities for the local economy."

For the entire article, see

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/opinion/planting-digital-seeds-former-gm-site-in-massena-would-be-good-spot-for-server-farm-20161210

by Ben Lambert, Torrington Register Citizen (CT)

The city is working to turn brownfield sites, which are common in the city and can decrease surrounding property values, into economic boons, using a new brownfield-area revitalization study.

Valarie Ferro of Good Earth Advisors and Geoffery Fitzgerald, manager of civil engineering with BL Companies, came before Economic Development Commission and other city officials Tuesday to give an overview of the study, which is being largely funded by a $200,000 grant received from the state in January.

Aspects of the planned study include a market analysis, with the aim of bringing the people and demographics of Litchfield County into Torrington — the city’s status as the center of a micropolitan area was noted during the discussion — consideration of past environmental studies, and design of potential infrastructure projects, including the Naugatuck River Greenway and a pedestrian plaza on Franklin Street, if that five-way intersection is permanently closed.
…

For the entire article, see
http://www.registercitizen.com/government-and-politics/20161213/city-seeks-better-understanding-of-brownfields-market-with-new-study

by Peter Maloney, Utility Dive

* Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) is awaiting approval from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) for its plans to develop 33 MW of solar projects at existing landfill and brownfield locations.

* PSEG subsidiary Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) in May asked BPU to expand its "Solar 4 All" program to allow it to invest $275 million to install 100 MW of solar capacity on landfill and brownfield sites by 2022.

...

For the entire article, see

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/pseg-close-to-approval-for-33-mw-of-brownfield-landfill-solar/429895/

by Chris Caya, WBFO Public Radio (Buffalo, NY)

The name "brownfield" may not sound appealing. In fact, New York State offers incentives to clean up contaminated properties. One successful project has reopened after sitting vacant for nearly a decade.  

The former F.N. Burt building near Buffalo's Larkinville neighborhood officially reopened in February as 500 Seneca Street. Development partner Sam Savarino said adaptive reuse projects are challenging in the best of times.  

"The building had two strikes against it: being in the neighborhood it was in and the fact that it was contaminated. So without programs like the Brownfield Tax Credit program and, in the case of this building, the Historic Tax Credit program because it is a landmark building, without those types of programs it simply wouldn't happen," Savarino said.

...

For the entire article, see

http://news.wbfo.org/post/brownfield-nys-incentives-new-500-seneca-street