News & Updates

BRA Wins $70,000 EPA Grant to "Green" Newmarket District

May 28, 2010

The BRA will soon be making the Newmarket area greener and more energy-efficient, thanks to a $70,000 EPA “Sustainable Skylines” grant. The project will help provide a model for making urban industrial areas sustainable.

The Sustainable Skylines Initiative is a collaborative effort that brings together EPA resources with those of other government agencies, nonprofit and private organizations to support individual communities.

Under EPA’s Sustainable Skylines Initiative, a city can choose to perform projects from seven categories: renewing community livability, climate change and renewable energy/energy efficiency, land-use transportation strategies, diesel emissions sources, green buildings and developments, pollution prevention, and education and outreach. Projects are expected to yield quantifiable benefits within three years. Other Sustainable Skylines cities include: Dallas, Kansas City and Philadelphia.

The BRA grant will focus on the Newmarket area, an urban industrial area that encompasses the new home of the Greater Boston Food Bank and the South Bay Center, with I-93 running down the middle. Some of the projects planned include creating a working group, building partnerships city-wide, improving energy efficiency in the area’s industrial buildings, exploring district-wide energy solutions, an anti-idling campaign and developing a strategic plan for the future.

“Sustainable Skylines supports environmental work to make the air cleaner and build a network of supporters from across the city. The program is aimed at building partnerships to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency and air quality,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “The City of Boston has a history of environmental leadership that they are expanding on with this award.”

“Support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will bolster our on-going efforts to help Newmarket businesses achieve greater energy efficiency, explore renewable energy options, and operate more competitively. We are excited by the opportunity to help develop a replicable model for sustainable urban industrial centers while helping our businesses create and retain good jobs,” said Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

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