TCH Development and Realty Co. was recently awarded $2 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) funding for phase two of its Mill at Easton project in Easton.
RACP funding is intended for the acquisition and construction of historical improvement, cultural, civic, recreational and regional economic projects. Projects must help create or maintain jobs, generate economic activity and have a regional or multijurisdictional impact to qualify.
TCH and its partners, PIRHL Developers, are redeveloping the former Stewart Black Mill and Black Diamond sites on Lincoln and Coal Streets in Easton.
The first phase created workforce housing. The second phase will create a mix of commercial properties including a grocery store, a restaurant, medical offices and a clinic, and retail space. Phase two will cost $9.7 million and create 90 jobs.
“These funds will be used (to) assist in the redevelopment of a more than 100-year-old blighted property on Southside Easton into a mixed-used development,” state Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton) said. “The two phases of this project bring much needed workforce housing to Easton as part of the first phase and a mix of commercial uses, including the potential for medical facilities and a grocery store, to Southside Easton.”
Redevelopment ensures the success of aging small cities, Boscola said.