NOIA_BGC.of.Dorchester_128a.BIL.FINAL.pdf

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Department of Environmental Protection Address: 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900, Boston MA 02114 | Phone: 617-292-5500

Maura T. Healey Governor

Kim Driscoll Lieutenant Governor

Rebecca Tepper Secretary

Bonnie Heiple Commissioner

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A BEST VALUE GRANT

Purpose of Notice: In accordance with the Office of the Comptroller’s policy titled, “State Grants, Federal Sub-Grants and Subsidies,” dated November 15, 2024, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“MassDEP”) is publishing this Notice of its Intent to Award a Best Value Grant in the amount of $250,000.00 to the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester (“B&GC of Dorchester”) in support of the FieldHouse+ Project.

The details of this Notice of Intent to Award a Best Value Grant are as follows:

Selected Grantee: Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester, 1135 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester, MA 02125

Grant Amount: $250,000.00. MassDEP reserves the right to amend the underlying grant award contract to increase the total grant amount, should additional funds become available on or before September 30, 2027, and provided that there is no change to the scope of the services.

Purpose of the Grant Funding: The purpose of this Best Value Grant award to the B&GC of Dorchester is to support site-specific activities at the property located at 301 Mount Vernon Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts, (the “Property”) for the implementation of remedial response actions in support of the construction of a new field house. The Property is located on Columbia Point, a peninsula within the City of Boston that extends into Boston Harbor. The location of the proposed work was at the edge of the harbor until a new sewer outlet was constructed at the eastern limits of the peninsula in the late 1870s and early 1880s. The Property remained marsh land until the late 1930s, when the subject area was filled. Additional trash dumping began south of Mount Vernon Street around 1934, but the limits of the dumping area are unclear from readily available historical records. By the late 1960s, athletic and recreational surfaces had been developed on the Property. Historic placement of urban fill and dumping at the Property have resulted in contamination in soil. The Property is the location of a disposal site regulated under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP; 310 CMR 40.0000). The purpose of this Best Value Grant Award is to facilitate the remediation and off-site disposal of MCP-regulated soil at the disposal site.

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This Best Value Grant Award is funded through the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program (STRP) Cooperative Agreement Grant, funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (“BIL”), from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to MassDEP.

The objective of the grant is to support state response programs that address assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of Brownfield sites and other contaminated sites. MassDEP’s June 27, 2025, Work Plan for the STRP Cooperative Agreement (the “Work Plan”) and final SF424A, dated June 9, 2026, submitted to the EPA details the tasks and activities that MassDEP will complete to fulfill the requirements of the STRP, including site-specific assessment and cleanup activities. The EPA-approved Work Plan prioritizes sites located within communities that have experienced disproportionate environmental burdens including the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.

Scope of Grant Performance to be Achieved or Funded Under the Grant: Through this Best Value Grant award, MassDEP will reimburse B&GC of Dorchester for costs associated with the transport and disposal of soil contaminated by compounds of concern at the site and requiring off-site disposal to support response actions necessary to achieve a permanent solution in accordance with the Massachusetts Contingency Plan in support of a proposed redevelopment project.

B&GC of Dorchester and their project partners are responsible for all other costs associated with soil management, site remediation and redevelopment. Following completion of the environmental response actions, B&GC of Dorchester plans to construct a field house as part of a multi-phase recreational development at the Property.

Duration of the Grant: MassDEP’s grant award contract with B&GC of Dorchester will commence after the expiration period of this Notice and run through September 30, 2027.

MassDEP reserves the right to renew the grant award contract for the purpose of extending the duration of the award which runs through September 30, 2030.

Justification why this Best Value Grant Award is Fair, Reasonable, and in the Best Interests of MassDEP and the Commonwealth: The CERCLA 128(a) STRP Cooperative Agreement BIL Grant awarded by EPA to MassDEP for the period of January 1, 2023, to September 30, 2027, inclusive, is $3,382,000 and has adequate funding to support this project.

The Property is in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston within the Block Group 2 Census Tract 909.01, which has a median household income (MHHI) that is 28% of the state MHHI.

This neighborhood has experienced a disproportionately high level of environmental impacts relative to the state as a whole. The Property is located close to the MBTA Red Line in a walkable mixed-use neighborhood. The use of these Brownfields funds to support the redevelopment project will provide much needed recreational facilities and green space

Notice of Intent to Award A Best Value Grant Page 3 with good access to transit in this historically overburdened neighborhood. Contamination in soil at the site includes: TCLP Lead, asbestos, and other metals.

B&GC of Dorchester, the City of Boston, and their development partners have managed assessment and cleanup at the Property in support of the FieldHouse+ Project. The capital campaign for the project includes more than $23M in State, Federal, and City support, including the following funds being leveraged to support the cleanup and site redevelopment:

o $ 250,000 – Soil Remediation – City of Boston (FY2026) o $ 2,000,000 – Site Work – City of Boston (FY2025) o $ 775,000 – Community Preservation – City of Boston (FY2025) o $12,000,000 – Econ. Development Bond Bill – Comm. of Massachusetts (SFY2025) o $ 5,000,000 – ARPA Funds – Comm. of Massachusetts (SFY2023) o $ 1,000,000 – Infrastructure Bond Bill – Comm. of Massachusetts. (SFY2023) o $ 2,500,000 – Community Projects – Congressional Earmarks (FY2022 & 2024)

In addition to the public funding sources listed above, the B&GC of Dorchester has solicited more than $30M in donations and contributions from private foundations and individual donors.

The City of Boston and the B&GC of Dorchester have invested significant time and financial resources to conduct community engagement, plan the redevelopment project, and design the site-cleanup program. B&GC of Dorchester has retained a Qualified Environmental Professional firm (LSP Firm) to manage and oversee the project work. The leveraged funding received to date is not sufficient to cover all project costs; however, with the addition of funds awarded through this Best Value Grant, B&GC of Dorchester will be able to complete the necessary site remediation activities to facilitate the construction of the new field house and recreational facilities at the site.

This award is necessary to facilitate continued, ongoing cleanup efforts and remediation at the Property, which have reached a critical stage in the redevelopment process. MassDEP believes that B&GC of Dorchester, as the developer and project lead, is uniquely situated to provide the services described. The successful cleanup of the Property and proposed redevelopment plan will significantly enhance recreational resources and open space in the neighborhood. The project is in keeping with Commonwealth priorities and will have a significant benefit for both a historically overburdened community and City residents at large.

For these reasons, MassDEP believes the issuance of this grant award through the Best Value Grant process represents an efficient and timely means of continuing support for this

Notice of Intent to Award A Best Value Grant Page 4 project. It also represents a fair and reasonable investment in the Property that is in the best interest of both MassDEP and the Commonwealth.