A Carve-Out from Connecticut’s Prevailing Wage Laws Could Be Boon for Brownfield Redevelopment

Pullman & Comley Real Estate co-chair Gary B. O'Connor authored the New England Real Estate Journal article “A Carve-Out from Connecticut’s Prevailing Wage Laws Could Be Boon for Brownfield Redevelopment.” In the article, Gary looks at a change to Connecticut’s prevailing wage laws that could give a much-needed boost to the redevelopment of formerly contaminated property, or brownfields. "Back in 2017, a legislative revision made any construction project receiving financial assistance of $1 million or more from the Department of Economic and Community Development subject to the prevailing wage statutes. This included DECD-funded projects for brownfield sites. It created a huge disincentive for developers, municipalities and businesses, because the Department of Labor generally interpreted the revised statutes as also applying to the vertical construction on the site." A new amendment passed by the Connecticut General Assembly now limits prevailing wage requirements to just the remediation, demolition and abatement work funded through DECD brownfield assistance—rather than the entire construction project.

As Gary explains, “Municipalities that investigated and at least partially remediated brownfield sites with grants from DECD found themselves unable to secure businesses or developers to acquire and redevelop these sites.” The change removes a key barrier to moving projects forward. The article also explains which entities are covered under the law, and carves out certain nonprofits from the definition of “business organization.”

To read the full article, please visit the New England Real Estate Journal website.