The Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development (ACCD) has awarded two grants for the Park Street School/Black River Innovation Campus project in Springfield totaling just over $1.7 million in funding. The redevelopment effort by Springfield Regional Development Corporation (SRDC) received $1,234,810.80 from the Agency’s Brownfield Revitalization Grant program and an additional $500,000 to the Town of Springfield, which will be subgranted to SRDC, through a Community Development Block Grant.
The property has been enrolled in Vermont’s BRELLA program and SRDC has completed site investigation and a Corrective Action Plan (CAP). The Brownfield Revitalization Grant will fund the environmental cleanup items that have been identified in the CAP. The Community Development Block Grant will support the installation of sprinklers which will permit fuller access to key areas of the property, including the historic gymnasium and auditorium.
SRDC Executive Director Bob Flint shared his appreciation of the continued state support for this project. He said “the Black River Innovation Campus has already started to create a tech ecosystem of economic activity in Springfield’s iconic Park Street School”. He added that the funding will be utilized in cleanup and renovation work at the property that is expected to begin later this year.
For more information about the Black River Innovation Campus, please visit www.bricvt.org. To learn more about Springfield Regional Development Corporation, www.springfielddevelopment.org.