State Gives Vernon $2M Brownfields Funding to Help Clean Amerbelle Mill Complex

The state Department of Economic and Community Development is granting $2 milliion to begin remediation of the former Amerbelle Mill complex in Vernon, preparing it for redevelopment.

The textile mill, Vernon’s last one, closed in 2012.

The grant was part of a set of this year’s 20 brownfield projects the state DECD announced it will fund around the state with $27 million.

“These 20 projects represent outstanding opportunities to activate long-stalled sites, create economic opportunity and remove blight from our communities,” said DECD Commissioner Catherine H. Smith in a news release.

That announcement describes the Vernon project this way: “Town of Vernon: $2,000,000 grant to the Town for the remediation and reclamation of the former 10.6 acre Amerbelle Mill property, to be converted to a state of the art facility anticipated for potential use by a large commercial tenant.”

A separate news release from Mayor Daniel A. Champagne’s office gave this additional information about the Vernon project:

“Vernon’s project application was chosen from more than 40 received by DECD. Application funding requests totaled $74.5 million, exceeding the $27 million available in this funding round.

“Earlier this year, Vernon’s was awarded $200,000 in Round 4 Brownfield funding to assess 15.2 acres among five former mill sites in Rockville for multiple potential redevelopments.” [...]

“This award is confirmation that Vernon is indeed, ‘On the Move’ and this funding represents a significant step toward historic
structural preservation and the revitalization of our downtown. Vernon remains committed to the complete cleanup of the site, quickly restoring Amerbelle to productive commercial use, and returning the site to our tax rolls,” Vernon Mayor Daniel A. Champagne said in the news release.

“Today’s announcement by Governor Malloy represents an unprecedented investment of state resources to redeveloping critical brownfield sites like the Amerbelle Mill in Rockville,” said Tim Sullivan, State Director of Waterfront, Brownfield and Transit-Oriented Development. “These targeted investments will activate long-stalled sites, remove blight and unlock significant economic growth.”