Chicopee receives funding for phase 2 of Abbey Brook revitalization project

City Planning Department Director Lee Pouliot discusses a reimbursement grant for the Abbey Brook revitalization project during the March 17 City Council meeting.
Photo credit: ChicopeeTV

CHICOPEE — The City Council approved a $250,000 free cash appropriation for phase 2 of the Abbey Brook Revitalization project, which aims to restore and improve the entire Abbey Brook corridor.

The appropriation, which comes from the city’s free cash account, was put forth by Mayor John Vieau and City Planning Department Director Lee Pouliot at the council’s March 17 meeting.

Vieau explained that, by appropriating the $250,000, the city will receive a $100,000 matching grant from the Division of Ecological Restoration. “It’s a pay up front and get reimbursed grant,” Vieau stated.

Pouliot said that the city requested the funds from DER’s priority project fund.

The Abbey Brook revitalization project will be done in three phases. The city of Chicopee hosted a ribbon cutting event in August 2025 at Frank J. Szot Memorial Park to celebrate the completion of Phase 1 efforts to restore and revitalize Abbey Brook.

Pouliot said the Planning Department and design team will look at its 25% conceptual design alternatives for phase 2 in the coming days. After the review, the Planning Department, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Department of Public Works will need to meet to determine which project alternatives will move forward.

“Once that decision is made, this funding will help us advance some initial additional work on the selected alternatives, and then we’ll be working with DER, the mayor’s office and the City Council to figure out how we’re going to fund design development to get to an actual bid package,” Pouliot explained. “At that point, we’ll also need to line up construction funding. We should have some estimates of costs with the alternatives that we’ll be able to review in the next couple of weeks.”

Phase 2 of the project will focus on the culvert under Front Street and a second culvert under the parking lot at Chicopee Electric Light that ultimately brings Abbey Brook to the Chicopee River.

Phase 3 will include the removal of the Upper Bemis Pond Dam and restoration of Abbey Brook extending from the upper dam footprint, upstream 1,000 feet.

Once all three phases are complete, the project will reconnect 1.5 miles of Abbey Brook with the downstream Chicopee River, eliminating the risk to public safety posed by the aging dams. The project will also reduce flood risk, improve water quality and enhance recreational opportunities for the community.

The particular item the council approved was only related to the $250,000 appropriation. Pouliot said the $100,000 grant acceptance will be on the next City Council agenda for further approval.

City Councilors Sam Shumsky and George Balakier thanked Pouliot for his hard work in securing the grant for the project.