Easton Awarded $1.5 Million State Grant For Sewer Work

EASTON — Easton announced Friday that it has accepted a MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant worth $1.5 million to fund Phase 2 of the Five Corners Sewer Project. The project will unlock the $20-million redevelopment of the 12-acre vacant Belcher iron foundry site.

Phase 1 extended the sewer main from Mansfield to a section of Easton's Five Corners District. Phase 2 will make available 165,000 gallons of wastewater treatment per day, serving more than 300 commercial and residential properties.

The foundry site and abutting 10-acre parcel is slated for 63 units of mixed duple and single-family homes. The public sewer improvements will also support Avalon Communities' $14-million expansion of an existing 40B Local Initiative Project, creating 44 units of mixed-income, multi-family housing, bringing the town’s subsidized housing inventory to 10 percent.

"As former municipal leaders, Governor Baker and I know firsthand the value of flexible grant programs like MassWorks, which help communities make targeted enhancements and provide opportunities for economic development," said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. "Today's award will accelerate local housing and commercial growth to better prepare Easton for the future."

The town's Five Corners District has been identified as a Tier 1 Needs Area in the town's Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan.

"Easton is thrilled to once again work with the Baker-Polito Administration to advance the Five Corners Sewer Project, our largest ever infrastructure project," said Easton Town Administrator Connor Read. "Working with the state's MassWorks team, our business partners, and the residents of Furnace Village, this project will drive mixed residential and commercial development bringing tens of millions in private investment to the area, reducing betterment costs for our property owners, and permanently improving sewer, water, and transportation infrastructure in a critical economic development corridor."