Here are the 10 projects receiving $3.2M in state site readiness funding

March 10, 2021 : Boston Business Journal, by Catherine Carlock

State officials have granted a combined $3.2 million to 10 municipalities across the commonwealth as part of the annual Site Readiness Program, which aim to ease the burden of predevelopment issues such as feasibility studies or master planning prior to a site’s future real-estate development.

Quasi-public agency MassDevelopment allocates the funding. Now in its fifth round, the predevelopment program has provided some $13.7 million in funding to 59 projects.

“Our administration is committed to helping communities achieve their economic development goals, and we will continue to work with the public and private sectors to ensure Massachusetts remains a great place to do business,” said Gov. Charlie Baker in a statement. “The Site Readiness Program addresses both goals by helping local partners advance key sites to shovel-ready status, and we look forward to these awards supporting projects that create jobs and revenue in their communities.”

The 10 projects receiving site readiness funding this year are:

Carriage Grove Power Plant, Belchertown - $804,000
The Belchertown Economic Development and Industrial Corp. plans to demolish an unused power plant to create a one-acre site for use as parking or as development adjacent to a 15-acre industrial district.

Frederick Douglass Avenue, Brockton - $70,000
The city of Brockton and the Brockton Redevelopment Authority plans to do predevelopment work on a downtown site to create a 300-space public parking garage, workforce housing and a "vertical farm."

Burlington Mall Road, Burlington - $85,000
The town of Burlington says it will create a master plan to develop the Burlington Mall Road corridor into a walkable mixed-use district.

Route 6/Route 240, Fairhaven - $75,000
The town of Fairhaven plans to do technical work for the Route 6/240 Redevelopment Study, which covers 300 acres and more than 150 properties.

Waterfront Redevelopment, Gloucester - $700,000
The city of Gloucester is updating its Municipal Harbor Plan and plans to use the funds to redevelop property in its inner harbor.

Marriner Building, Lawrence - $135,000
Lawrence Community Works plans to remediate and improve the sprinkler system at the unoccupied Marriner Building, which will allow commercial tenants to occupy the facility. The organization also received a $250,000 grant from the fourth round of the Site Readiness Program for the property.

Millbrook Industrial Park, Leicester - $50,000
The town of Leicester plans to do due diligence studies and market analysis for a largely underdeveloped 116-acre site with 2,000 feet of frontage on Huntoon Memorial Highway that could support up to 1.5 million square feet of development.

Church Street Bridge, Palmer - $280,000
The town of Palmer will design the replacement of the Church Street Bridge over the Ware River, which provides direct access to the village of Thorndike and is key to redeveloping the Thorndike Energy Mill Complex.

Site 9, Pittsfield - $880,000
The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority will prepare to build an internal site roadway, utilities and stormwater facilities for the 16.5-acre Site 9, which could house 282,000 square feet of industrial use and open space.

Hudson Drive/Sam West Road Industrial Park, Southwick - $105,000
The town of Southwick will evaluate the feasibility of extending a road connection between Hudson Drive and Sam West Road and whether it could create development sites for industrial use.