Three million in grant funding headed to Northeast projects

Three million dollars in Pennsylvania grant funding will support four parks and recreation projects in the Northeast as well as an energy efficiency project at a local commercial warehouse, according to three state lawmakers from the Northeast.

State Sens. Mike Stack and Tina Tartaglione, along with state Rep. Kevin Boyle, announced the grant awards last week.

The largest single grant will be worth $2 million and will fund a 750-kilowatt fuel cell system at the TJX Distribution Center, 2760 Red Lion Road. The Commonwealth Financing Authority’s Alternative and Clean Energy Program will underwrite the grant, Boyle said in a printed statement on Oct. 22. NBC Merchants Inc., a TJX subsidiary, will administer the grant.

The system will produce electricity from natural gas by using an electrochemical reaction with very limited emissions. The fuel cell system will produce an estimated 6.2 million kilowatt hours annually and offset 65 percent of the facility’s energy consumption.

TJX is the parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and other discount apparel and home goods store chains. It employs more than 1,000 people at the 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center.

“This grant is a perfect example of government helping private industry to improve its operations,” Boyle said. “Not only will NBC Merchants gain from this project, the local community benefits from the reduced energy consumption and lower emissions.”

On Oct. 20, Stack announced that the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Community Conservation Partnerships Program had awarded $400,000 to the Frankford Greenway Project, which will use it to help reclaim the “lost and forgotten” Frankford Creek.

The work will include 1.2 miles of trails from Wheatsheaf Lane and Aramingo Avenue to Lewes Street and Delaware Avenue with landscaping, disabled access points, signage and other improvements.

“The stream that connects the neighborhoods of Juniata Park, Frankford, Port Richmond and Bridesburg also connects the city to its industrial past,” Stack said. “This grant should help turn back the clock and help boost the neighborhoods surrounding the greenway.”

On Oct. 21, Stack announced a $150,000 grant from the state’s Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program to the Delaware River City Corporation to help fund the $2.7 million K&T Trail construction that will connect Pulaski Park, the Arsenal Boat Launch and Lardner’s Point Park.

Meanwhile, on Oct. 20, Tartaglione announced a $300,000 Community Conservation Partnerships grant to the city to fund improvements at Wissinoming Park, including a new spray park, playground equipment and picnic grove, along with improved disabled access, walkways landscaping and signage.

“Because we live in an urban setting, it is important that we continue to invest in our green spaces,” Tartaglione said. “Wissinoming Park is a vital part of the second Senatorial district and the project promises to transform the space into a better experience once the improvements are finished.”

Tartaglione, on Oct. 21, announced that a $150,000 grant from the Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program will help Friends Hospital preserve a tract of land near Tacony Park. The Natural Lands Trust will use the money to preserve the property around the nation’s oldest private psychiatric hospital. A Fairmount Park System trail is part of the tract. ••