National Grid announced an award of more than $443,000 to MSP Realty LLC of Watertown to support the completion of the Bradley Street Commerce Park in the town of Pamelia. This latest round of funding was part of nearly $675,000 from the National Grid Shovel Ready Infrastructure Program to assist in developing the commerce park on outer Bradley Street, which is also signed as NYS Route 12.

“National Grid is an engine for economic growth in New York state,” said Alberto Bianchetti, regional director for National Grid. “Our economic development projects are an investment that pays long-term dividends by helping to foster businesses with good jobs that support communities and families in our service area. It’s also a catalyst for further development and investment from others who see our region as an attractive, vibrant place to own and operate a business.”

Project improvements included bringing sewer, water, electric, gas, and internet to the site, as well as a new access road known as Lucas Drive. The latest grant from National Grid helped fund the completion of the access road and a turn lane from Bradley Street, as well as access to utilities and telecommunications infrastructure.

“It’s truly a plug-and-play site for businesses looking to move in,” Bianchetti said. “A business can construct a building, tap into the utility service at the park and hit the ground running.”

The 89-acre site on outer Bradley Street, was identified by local leaders as an ideal location for domestic industrial and commercial businesses to connect with Canada, as well as Canadian businesses looking to establish a U.S. presence, due to its proximity to the border crossing, and access to interstate highway and rail. F.X. Caprara Honda and United Parcel Service were the first tenants in the park.

Purcell Construction led the effort to obtain the shovel ready certification from New York State in 2016, beginning with an investment of $450,000 for design and planning requirements to prepare the site for review. The first phase of National Grid’s support, a $125,000 grant, was provided to assist Purcell Construction in qualifying for Build Now-NY Shovel Ready Certification.

Mark Purcell, owner of MSP Realty, LLC and CEO of Purcell Construction, said: “The development of a commerce park, with all the required infrastructure, is a significant undertaking for a private company like ours. The assistance from National Grid’s grant program helped make this project more feasible. This was a true public-private partnership and wouldn’t have happened without National Grid’s assistance. We look forward to more businesses wanting to locate or expand in the Bradley Street Commerce Park in the town of Pamelia.”

Scott Allen, Pamelia town supervisor, said: “Qualifying for Build Now-NY Shovel Ready Certification from Empire State Development and National Grid’s Shovel Ready Infrastructure program has brought a local developer’s idea to a feasible project. The town of Pamelia would like to thank all the public and private partners working to make the commerce park development a reality. We look forward to the future expansion and the new jobs being created in Jefferson County and the town of Pamelia from the commerce park.”

David J. Zembiec, CEO of Jefferson County Economic Development, said: “This is another example of National Grid proving to be a key partner in creating shovel ready sites that position our communities to better attract new business development. Business prospects like to know that when they’re ready to put a shovel in the ground, the infrastructure and utilities they need will already be in place.”

National Grid’s Shovel Ready Infrastructure program provides grants of up to $125,000 for engineering and planning studies that will advance a site in the Shovel Ready development process and up to $250,000 for the installation of electric and natural gas infrastructures at designated Build Now NY and Shovel Ready Certified Sites served by the company. These programs are part of the company’s suite of upstate New York economic development programs.

Shovel Ready Certification is administered by Empire State Development, the state’s chief economic development organization. The program is an ongoing component of the Build Now NY program. The state does not provide funding for Shovel Ready applications but does coordinate the review of each application with all relevant state and federal agencies. In this case, as part of the process, the site is evaluated by representatives of Empire State Development, the New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation, Transportation, and Agriculture & Markets, state Office of Historic Preservation, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Since 2003, National Grid’s 18 economic development programs have provided more than $125 million in assistance, helping to create or retain more than 60,000 jobs and supporting almost $10 billion in private and public investment across upstate New York. More information about National Grid’s suite of programs is available at www.shovelready.com.

Additionally, National Grid provides economic development support during the pandemic through its Manufacturing Productivity Programs. The program fast tracks economic development requests to assist businesses that transitioned their facilities to produce critical medical equipment and supplies needed to fight COVID-19.

About National Grid

About National Grid: National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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