Enfield Receives $200K State Grant to Redevelop Old Theater

Enfield is one of eight Connecticut municipalities that will receive assessment and planning grants to support the redevelopment of historically significant brownfield sites.

The Historic Brownfield Revitalization Program is providing grants to assess environmental and structural conditions, and conduct community-driven reuse visioning and planning exercises for historically significant brownfield sites.

Enfield was awarded $200,000 to support assessment and reuse planning for the historic Strand Theatre in the Thompsonville neighborhood, according to an announcement from Gov. Dannel Malloy.

The 980-seat theater opened in 1937. The entrance foyer and marquee were remodelled in 1948 and closed in the late-1970s, according to cinema treasures.org.

“As we’ve raised the bar like never before in preserving our most treasured areas, we’ve also made historic progress redeveloping brownfields – because it boosts our economic development in the short- and long-term. It’s about the future, about revitalizing local communities, and enhancing our economy,” Malloy said in a statement. “This is an investment now that will benefit these municipalities for years to come.”

In previous rounds of remediation funding, DECD’s Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development (OBRD) has received many applications to assess or remediate mill properties and other historically significant structures, but often there has been limited reuse planning done to consider innovative redevelopment strategies once remediation is complete. In many rural communities, historic mill villages represent the only high-density developments that provide an opportunity for context-sensitive revitalization that minimizes the impacts of economic development on open space, farmlands and other cultural and environmental resources.

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Photo credit: cinema treasures.org.