Jenney Property Cleanup Set to Begin

After a decade as an eyesore on one of the busiest corners in the city's downtown, the former Jenney gas station site is about to get a makeover.

With a Brownfields grant in place, the city is close to beginning a cleanup of the former servcie station at 25 East Main St, which could eventually become a park. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has scheduled a meeting on the proposed cleanup of the property for July 10. 

The meeting, which will lay out the cleanup plan and next steps, will take place at 6 p.m. at the Public Facilities Department of the Hildreth School, 85 Sawin St. 

At the meeting, the EPA will outline the specific plan for the remediation of pollution on the site, which includes petroleum products and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Last month, the city solicited bids for the cleanup of above and underground storage tanks as well as contaminated soil. The price for that portion of the work is expected to be around $120,000. 

The overall cleanup, and related community outreach, is being funded with a $200,000 Brownfields Program grant from the agency that was awarded in 2011.

At the time, the EPA said Marlborough had 230 state-listed sites that needed cleanup and noted that the Jenney is close to downtown and near residential neighborhoods. 

The Jenney site was used as a service station starting in the 1920s and housed several businesses before it was abandoned over a decade ago.

The EPA said the city plans to convert the property, once the cleanup is completed, into a "social gathering spot" such as a small park.