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.