State Receives Money to Repair Sandy-Damaged Historic Properties

Connecticut has received more than $8 million in new federal disaster relief funding from the National Park Service to help fix Sandy-damaged historic and archaeological properties in Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties that were damaged by Super Storm Sandy in 2012.

According to a press release from the governor's office, Connecticut is one of several states along the Eastern Seaboard set to receive part of the $47.5 million allocated from the federal Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) for the restoration and repair of properties and resources listed on or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. No match is required for these emergency grant funds.

“We are very proud of Connecticut’s history, and we’re committed to preserving it because it is such a large part of what defines us,” said Gov. Dannel Malloy in the release. “These funds are an investment in our irreplaceable historic resources – which are major drivers of our tourism industry – and will go a long way toward repairing many of these damaged treasures so they can be enjoyed by generations to come. We are grateful to the Obama Administration and our Congressional delegation for their cooperation with our ongoing disaster recovery efforts.”

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will administer the grants, ranging from $2,500 to $500,000, to owners of historic resources, including private property owners, municipalities, non-profits, and corporations. Only storm-related damage is eligible for grant assistance, which will be awarded based on availability of funding and need based on SHPO’s scoring criterion.

Grant assistance may be used for both construction and planning projects and will be paid to grantees on a single-payment reimbursement basis following the completion of the project and approval of all work by SHPO staff. Property owners who have already completed eligible projects may seek reimbursement and may also apply for additional eligible projects.  SHPO will host five Public Information Sessions for property owners to discuss the details of the grant program.  

The two informational sessions scheduled locally are:

Old Lyme

7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 6

Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, 2 Library Lane

New London

7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 20

Council Chambers, 181 State Street

Deadlines

Round 1: Friday, November 15, 2013 at 4:00 PM

Round 2: Friday, February 14, 2014 at 4:00 PM

For details on how to apply for this grant and additional information on resources available for residents, businesses and municipalities following natural disasters and other emergencies, visit the state’s official CT Recovers website.