AUGUSTA — A new $500,000 federal grant will help city officials study buildings targeted for development in hopes of bringing them back into service.
Augusta is just one of three communities in the state — Portland and Caribou are the others — to receive the Environmental Protection Agency Community-Wide Brownfields Assessment Grant this funding cycle, according to Augusta officials.
The funds will be used to assess some buildings on Water Street downtown and 33 Union St., the former police station that’s near the YMCA and the State House.
Keith Luke, Augusta’s economic development director, said the city will assess contamination at sites targeted for redevelopment.
“Before a developer will typically get involved at a redevelopment project, they’ll want to understand what the level of site contamination is and have a strategy for cleanup and what those costs are,” Luke said.
Without the $500,000 federal grant, city taxpayers would have to foot the bill for this type of work, he said.
The former police station has already been approved for a new development that will offer workforce and senior housing.
Previously, the city has used an EPA grant for assessments at the Colonial Theater, a downtown venue that’s been shuttered for more than 50 years.
In addition to the former police station property, the new round of funding will be used for tax acquired properties scattered throughout the city and some downtown buildings, Luke said.
“One of our goals is to identify and leverage grant funds exactly like this for pre-development work that otherwise would be local money to move these projects along,” he said.
In a memo to city council, City Manager Jared Mills described the grant as “highly competitive” and credited the city’s successful use of previous grants with ensuring the new grant award.
“The new award will allow us to continue assessing and returning contaminated, underutilized properties across the city to productive use,” he wrote.