Grant funding is now available to help New York communities identify vacant and underutilized brownfield sites. As part of the Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) program, communities can now apply for funding to assess and identify concentrations of brownfields within counties or multi-municipal areas. Previously, the BOA program only funded planning and development efforts, and this round of $2 million in funding includes assessment as a fundable activity. The Department also launched a new video to help communities understand and identify brownfield sites in their areas.
“The Department of State’s Brownfield Opportunity Area Program offers communities an opportunity to transform vacant and underused sites into vital assets that facilitate investment and improvement,” said Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley. “But before communities can begin to create this plan for redevelopment, the first step is identifying existing Brownfield sites. This $2 million in funding can now be used to assess potential Brownfield sites in a community – making it easier to begin this process and revitalize communities.”
The BOA program transforms brownfield sites from liabilities to community assets, which in turn generate and support new businesses, jobs, housing and public amenities. The program provides grants for BOA plans which, once completed, are submitted to the New York State Secretary of State for approval, or “designation.” Such designated BOA plans then entitle projects that are consistent with the plan to priority funding among certain state programs and an additional 5 percent brownfield developer tax credit.
The BOA program also provides grants for pre-development activities in State-designated BOAs, such as environmental, housing and economic studies, infrastructure analyses, marketing strategies, public engagement and zoning, countywide brownfield inventories and assessments, phase II environmental site assessments and regulatory updates, among others. There are currently 74 designated BOAs in New York State.
Applications for BOA funding are being solicited through the State’s Consolidated Funding Application, the single application for State resources which is designed to give project applicants expedited and streamlined access to a combined pool of grant funds and tax credits from dozens of existing programs.
Eligible applicants include municipalities, community-based organizations and New York City community boards to establish or implement strategies for community redevelopment of brownfield affected areas.
More information about this funding opportunity is available here.
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