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Brownfields Success Stories
Bridgeport's Restored Gateway Leads to a Whole New Impression
By the year 1990, Bridgeport had become one of the poorest yet most
highly taxed cities in the nation. Nowhere in the City was this economic
decay more evident than at the former Jenkins Valve site, located directly
at Bridgeport's main gateway. Visitors coming in 
via the City's ferry, from Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad cars arriving
at Bridgeport's train terminal, and in vehicles buzzing overhead on
the Interstate 95 overpass were all subjected to a clear view of the
abandoned, run-down property. Using a portion of the $200,000 grant
provided to the City in August 1994 as part of EPA's Brownfields Pilot
Initiative, a site evaluation was performed on the Jenkins Valve property.
Based on this evaluation, the Zurich Re corporation stepped in and invested
$11 million to clean up and redevelop the site. An additional $1 million
was provided by Bridgeport, and $2 million by the State. This long-idle
property is now home to a new, 5,500-seat ballpark, and will eventually
include an indoor ice-skating rink and a new museum. 
The ballpark project alone created 361 jobs, 68 of which are permanent.
The collaboration and partnership of multiple Federal agencies have
allowed Bridgeport's cleanup and redevelopment efforts to progress well
beyond the assessment and planning stages enabled by EPA's initial $200,000
brownfields grant. As stated by John Podgurski, Brownfields Coordinator
for EPA Region 1: "To give you an idea about how much things have
changed, the City of Bridgeport has received over 200 inquiries about
this pilot from developers and other investors [since the program was
initiated]...we continue to build on the momentum generated by the brownfields
pilot." Visitors to Bridgeport greeted by a view of the former
Jenkins Valve property, with its new ballpark, can testify to the success
of the City's efforts. For more information on Bridgeport's Brownfields
Pilot, contact John Podgurski at (617) 573-9681.