Photo By Eugene Driscoll
(From left to right) Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti, TEAM Inc.’s David Morgan (back to camera), Gov. Ned Lamont, and state Rep. Kara Rochelle after a press conference to announce a grant on July 8.
ANSONIA — State Rep. Kara Rochelle (D‑Ansonia) announced on Friday that the city will be receiving $2 million from the state to go toward the renovation of a 175,000 square-foot building within the Ansonia Copper & Brass complex downtown.
The money is expected to be approved at an upcoming meeting of the state’s bond commission.
Rochelle made the announcement in a video posted to her Facebook page.
“I just got word from the governor’s office that I and Sen. Cabrera have secured $2 million new dollars,” Rochelle said, referring to state Sen. Jorge Cabrera (D‑Hamden).
Watch her remarks below (story continues after the video):
Rochelle and Cabrera requested the money be allocated from the state bond commission. Gov. Ned Lamont decides which items get listed on the agenda. The bond commission then votes on the requests.
A post on the City of Ansonia Facebook page on Friday pointed out the money is to be used for the “extrusion mill,” one of the only structurally sound buildings on the large complex. The post thanked Ansonia’s delegation in Hartford for supporting the cause.
“City staff has worked hard to identify the extrusion mill as one of the only structurally sound buildings on the Copper and Brass parcel capable of being salvaged and rehabilitated,” according to the post. “This 175,000 square foot structure is an integral part of the Cassetti administration’s plan to revitalize the entire 60 acre plus parcel, and was identified as part of an early grant applied for by the city.”
Photo from Facebook
Mayor David Cassetti outside city hall on Main Street holding paperwork connected to the former Ansonia Copper & Brass property.
Lamont was just in Ansonia July 8 to celebrate the city receiving $1 million from the state to go toward the environmental assessment, demolition, and remediation of the former Farrel Foundry and Machine Co. site at the corner of Main Street and North Main Street (next to Copper and Brass).
Friday’s $2 million announcement and the recent $1 million announcement are in addition to the $500,000 the city received last year for demolition work on the massive, old industrial complex.
Ansonia’s downtown is on a clear upswing, with new restaurants and hundreds of apartments under construction on Main Street, in addition to a new police station and senior center being built within an existing building at 65 Main St.
The 50-acre former Ansonia Copper & Brass is arguably the city’s toughest redevelopment challenge, so the money helps.
Ansonia’s resurgence, along with the obvious need for an influx of lots of federal dollars, was recently highlighted in a report by the PBS NewsHour.
State lawmakers are also pointing to a series of improvements to rail service that they say will make downtown Ansonia more attractive to developers. The Ansonia train station is a short walk from Copper and Brass, with the tracks literally passing through the complex.
Watch the report below:
