MDR Construction Completes Brownfield Redevelopment

Former Praxair Site Remediated, New Building Going Up

Tewksbury, MA – Tewksbury-based MDR Construction Inc. is moving to a newly built 6,800-sf facility on Shawsheen Street following the remediation of the former Brownfield site. MDR, a heavy civil contracting company specializing in site development, performed the construction itself. The firm has been based in Tewksbury since 1999, according to President Michael Saccone.

The site was long owned by Praxair, which manufactured dry ice at the site for several decades. The site had been contaminated by oil and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from its past use. Praxair performed a partial site cleanup in the 1990s that left the site with restrictions on the activities and uses allowed at the property.

Saccone stated, “We felt that it was important to remove the remaining contamination as part of our site redevelopment efforts. Our remediation reduced risks to employees and neighbors, and allows unrestricted use of the site in the future.”

Cooperstown Environmental LLC, an Andover-based environmental engineer, provided the Licensed Site Professional (LSP) services for the work. James T. Curtis, P.E., LSP, President of the firm, stated, “MDR voluntarily undertook the additional cleanup as a good corporate citizen, and as a result, now has a site untainted by its past. The firm should be saluted for its efforts.”

Cooperstown’s expertise in the state’s Brownfields Tax Credit program was an important piece of the financial puzzle. The credit allows a partial cost reimbursement for redevelopment projects such as this that result in a clean site.