MAINE PUBLIC • May 29, 2024
Portland is hosting a New England Brownfields Summit this week, where hundreds of stakeholders are learning about programs to transform the blighted properties into economic engines. Brownfield grants and low interest loans can help communities clean up land and water contaminated by mills and military chemical storage. Thompson's Point in Portland was once a port for the railroad and shipping industries but by the 1940s was relegated to industrial manufacturing and storage. Mayor Mark Dion said a brownfields grant served as a catalyst to create the bustling event and business venue it is today.