Connecticut

Program # of Grants EDA Funds
Public Works 1 $1,073,594
Planning 4 $280,000
Technical
Assistance
1 $96,766
Total 6 $1,450,360

When one of Ansonia, Connecticut’s existing industrial firms, an equipment manufacturer for the plastics industry, outgrew its space and began looking for a place to relocate, city leaders needed to find a parcel of land that would accommodate the expansion. But with open space limited to parks, rivers and water storage areas, Ansonia faced a critical shortage of developable land. An ideal parcel of land abutted the city’s Fountain Lake Commerce Center, but the tract of land was virtually inaccessible by roads and the state highway system, limiting its commercial capabilities.

Without the infrastructure improvements to allow access to developable land, the industrial firm would not only leave Ansonia, but would move out of the United States and relocate in Germany. In FY 2015, EDA awarded $1 million in public works funds to the city of Ansonia to fund construction of utility and road improvements to support Phase II development of the Foundation Lake Commerce Center. The infrastructure improvements will allow better access to 44 acres, allowing the city to attract existing business and for expansion by others which will provide jobs for the city and the Naugatuck Valley region. According to grantee estimates, Phase 2 of the Foundation Lake Commerce Center will save 100 existing jobs, create 25 jobs and generate $11 million in private investment.

Report fiscal year

  • 2015