Committee approves $200,000 grant applications to investigate contamination at 71 and 89 Shelton Avenue

The New Haven Board of Alders’ City Services and Environmental Policy Committee voted Feb. 6 to authorize the city to apply for a grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development to support environmental investigation of properties at 71 Shelton Avenue and 89 Shelton Avenue.

Michael Buscatelli, economic development administrator for the city, said the item is an assessment-based brownfield application intended to characterize contamination so the properties could be marketed for residential use. He said 71 Shelton “was most known for conducting research into nuclear fuel components for the US Navy” and that "the radiological impacts have been cleaned up, by GE," but that other common industrial contaminants have not yet been characterized.

Buscatelli said 89 Shelton Avenue housed lab space used by Winchester and Olin for military prototypes; he said the owner is pursuing cleanup to meet the Connecticut Transfer Act industrial standard now and that the grant-funded work would identify what additional testing or hazardous-material abatement would be required to convert the building for residential use. The proposal calls for a Phase 3 environmental site assessment at 71 Shelton and supplemental testing and a hazardous building materials survey at 89 Shelton to identify asbestos, lead and possible PCBs.

Property owner Schneur Katz said he has owned the properties for more than 20 years and has spent his own funds on investigations. “I desperately need this money to move to the next step,” Katz told the committee, saying he has pursued prior cleanup work with former owners and that additional state funds are necessary to ready the sites for redevelopment.

Helen Rosenberg and Buscatelli said the grant is assessment-focused and that the state often favors cleanup funding once sites have assessment work completed. Buscatelli noted recent brownfield funding the city has secured and said many past grants have supported mixed-income or affordable housing projects.

Committee members voiced support and noted the site’s proximity to the Gibbs Street parcel discussed earlier and the potential for nearby open space to serve future residents. Members discussed tenant impacts at 89 Shelton: Katz said roughly six artists remain in the building and that he has informed tenants that the building may be sold or renovated; he said he has relocated some tenants to other properties he owns in town.

The committee approved the resolution by voice vote; the transcript records a voice vote but does not provide a roll-call tally. The resolution (LM-20204-0725) and related materials are on file with the city clerk.