OXFORD — Today, Assistant Secretary of Communities and Programs Juan Vega was joined by Oxford Town Manager Jennifer Callahan, Representative Paul Frost, and other state and local officials to announce the town of Oxford is receiving a $2.8 million award through the MassWorks Infrastructure Program.  The award will support the extension of an existing sewer main, which ends at the intersection of Route 20 and Route 56/Leicester Street, for approximately three-fourths of a mile to Oxbow Road.  The extension will serve commercial properties along Route 20 and in the adjacent industrial parks, removing a long-standing barrier that has prevented area businesses from growing and expanding.   “Through this MassWorks award, we can help unlock planned and future opportunities for significant private investment,” said Governor Charlie Baker.  “Our continued progress toward economic recovery relies on efforts to create new jobs and produce more housing, and by backing projects like this, we can support both.”   “The MassWorks program has been critical to our Administration’s efforts to empower communities that are seeking to advance locally-driven plans for economic development,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito.  “By partnering with communities like Oxford, we can support a range of initiatives from concept to construction and accelerate progress toward their goals.”   In addition to the sewer extension, Oxford’s MassWorks grant will fund infrastructure upgrades at the Thayer Pond Village pumping station, replacing existing three-inch sewer mains with modern, four-inch mains.  That upgrade will support Eastland Partners’ phased plans to build 150,000 square feet of commercial development, and 320 units of new housing under a proposal known as “Southbridge Place.”  Eastland estimates that construction of the commercial component will lead to the creation of over 550 jobs and will generate approximately $600,000 in projected property tax revenue.    Oxford’s MassWorks award is also a key facet of MassDOT’s project to make significant upgrades to Route 20 through Oxford that will built to modern design standards, and will include wider travel lanes and numerous safety enhancements.   The MassWorks program is included in the Community One Stop for Growth platform, which is a single application portal providing access to a wide range of grant programs.  Launched in January 2021, the Community One Stop for Growth was designed to simplify and streamline the process for communities and entities to access the Commonwealth’s numerous grant programs. In its first year, 360 project proposals were submitted from 177 communities across the Commonwealth, with over $300 million in requests. It resulted in 196 grant awards to projects across 122 communities, with over $88.6 million in community and economic development grant funds being awarded – including over $28.8 million to Gateway Cities and $21.7 million to rural and small towns. The One Stop process not only helped to make grants programs more accessible to all communities, large and small – a principle in the Administration’s Partnerships for Growth plan – but also ensured the equitable distribution of resources across all regions of the Commonwealth.   “We created the One Stop to offer access to a wide variety of programs through a single, streamlined process that ensures that valuable funds can be directed more effectively, to more communities, in less time,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy. “The One Stop gives communities and other partners the opportunity to work collaboratively with us, to pursue multiple projects simultaneously and to meet their economic development goals. The town of Oxford has demonstrated how applicants can be creative with grant funding to maximize the impact of state investments in transformative projects. While the first year of the One Stop has shown tremendous promise, the demand for our programs demonstrates that we can do more.”   “As designed, the One Stop enhances access to important resources and programs, which in turn allows communities to overcome traditional barriers to economic and community development initiatives,” said Assistant Secretary of Communities and Programs Juan Vega.  “I want to congratulate Oxford on their award, and look forward to many more communities replicating their success in the future.”   "The Town of Oxford is absolutely thrilled to learn it will be awarded this significant funding to upgrade and extend our infrastructure to help support our future housing and business needs! Oxford is extremely grateful to Secretary Mike Kennealy for his leadership on behalf of the Baker-Polito Administration in recognizing the worthiness of this project by focusing some of the Commonwealth's resources to make this important project a reality,” said Oxford Town Manager Jennifer Callahan.  “With this award, we can continue to build our business and housing partnerships with both new and existing developers to help grow our local economy!"   “The Route 20 reconstruction has been a long-discussed and planned project in the town of Oxford,” said Senator Ryan Fattman. "It is excellent to see that the state acknowledges the value this area brings to our region by making this commitment through MassWorks. The Oxford legislative delegation has advocated for these improvements to the area, and this continued commitment from the Administration demonstrates their alignment with our advocacy that the region is a great place to work and call home.”    “I’m grateful the Baker-Polito Administration and those at MassWorks are awarding this significant economic development grant to Oxford so it can coincide with the reconstruction and safety improvements of Route 20,” said Representative Paul Frost. “It is important that the state protect its taxpayer investments on making improvements on Route 20 in North Oxford by helping the community extend sewer lines in this area now instead years after the big project is completed. The state legislative delegation for Oxford has worked hand in hand with Town Manager Jen Callahan, the Board of Selectmen, the Town Engineer and all the town officials who have advocated tirelessly, past and present, to get the sewer project incorporated into the major public safety redesign of Route 20 in North Oxford and I congratulate them all today on a job well done.”   “The Oxford DPW is honored to receive a $2.8 million MassWorks grant award to make a substantial infrastructure improvement along the Route 20 corridor that will support housing and economic development in town,” said Oxford DPW Director Jared Duval. “I am pleased to work with our partners at MassDOT to make this project a reality as part of the Route 20 Reconstruction Project in Charlton and Oxford. On behalf of the Oxford DPW, thank you to Secretary Mike Kennealy and his team at EOHED for recognizing the tremendous value this project will bring to the Town of Oxford."   “Eastland is excited to partner with the Town of Oxford and provide a critical infrastructure component in conjunction with the recently awarded MassWorks Grant,” said Chad Boardman, Eastland Partner’s Development Manager.  “Our project will allow for the planning of over 644 residential units and 150,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial pad sites in the Oxford/Auburn portion of the Route 20 highway corridor. The infrastructure will also create opportunities commercially and residentially along the Oxford Route 20 corridor to the west. Our overall project will provide new job opportunities, market-rate housing, affordable housing, economic development, and addresses safety with improvements in the newly designed highway system.”

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