Prominent Willimantic 'Zombie' Property Getting Redevelopment Grant

WILLIMANTIC, CT — A prominent property in Willimantic is getting a state grant to pay for its eventual re-use.

Governor Ned Lamont Wednesday announced that he has approved a series of state grants totaling $20 million that will be used to support the remediation and redevelopment of 21 blighted properties consisting of 150 acres of contaminated land in 18 municipalities across Connecticut.

The funds will be used to support the costs of cleaning up the vacant properties so they can be redeveloped and put back into productive use to support economic growth and housing needs, Lamont said.

The grants are being released through the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program. The grants are expected to leverage approximately $530 million in private investments and facilitate the creation of 1,392 units of new housing, as well as the growth of new businesses.

A $200,000 grant has been earmarked to the town of Windham for the assessment of the 2.46-acre site of the former Kramer Building, located at 322 Prospect Street in Willimantic near the south campus of Eastern Connecticut State University. The work will facilitate the development of "options for adaptive reuse of the building," Lamont said.

He added, "All of these blighted properties have been vacant for years when we should be using them to grow new businesses and support the development of badly needed housing. This series of state grants enables us to partner with developers who will take these zombie properties and bring them back from the dead, cleaning up contaminated land and bringing life back to these neighborhoods."