The City of Malden is thrilled to announce it has received a $200,550 municipal climate resilience grant to continue design work on the Malden River Works project. Awarded by the Baker-Polito Administration’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, which is administered by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), these competitive grants support cities and towns in identifying climate hazards, developing strategies to improve resilience, and implementing priority actions to adapt to climate change. Malden is one of 73 communities and regional partnerships to have received action-grant funding in the latest round of applications.
The City has previously won two MVP Action Grants in 2020 and 2021 for a total of $504,614 to bring the project up to 75% design. The new MVP Action Grant will be used to continue design work and permitting over the next year, with construction documents ready to go out to bid by the fall of 2023.
Malden River Works was identified in the City’s MVP Plan as one of the top priority actions in climate change adaptation. The project seeks to transform the Malden Department of Public Works (DPW) yard, located on Commercial Street along the Malden River, in order to incorporate climate resiliency measures into the DPW yard and create a new waterfront park for the Malden community. The DPW plays a crucial role in disaster response, managing street repairs, waste removal, and drainage repairs in the wake of climate events.
“For the third year in a row, the Baker-Polito administration has rewarded our community’s tremendous efforts to address climate change impacts,” says Mayor Christenson. “Malden River Works represents a new planning approach for Malden that reduces barriers to participation and elevates the voices of marginalized members of the community to build social resilience alongside climate resilience. Malden is grateful for the continued leadership of the Malden River Works Steering Committee on this important project.”
The initial concept design was funded by a $100,000 grant from MIT’s Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) and crafted by a year-long community engagement process that included four public meetings, three community-wide surveys, and countless volunteer hours. The work was driven by the Malden River Works Steering Committee – a new coalition of community leaders of color, youth, environmental advocates, and government stakeholders.
The MVP program has awarded over $100 million in funding and technical support to communities across the state. With this year’s awards, 97% of Massachusetts cities and towns are enrolled. The MVP program pairs local leadership and knowledge with a significant investment of resources and funding from the Commonwealth to address ongoing climate change impacts like sea level rise, inland flooding, storms, and extreme temperatures.
Grant Announcement: Baker-Polito Administration Awards Over $32 Million in Climate Change Funding to Cities and Towns Bringing Total Investment to $100 Million | Mass.gov
Please visit http://www.maldenriverworks.org/ for more information.
Pictured: Rendering of possible improvements