Newtown and Southbury are among the 21 towns receiving grants to help develop brownfield sites. 

$3.8 million in grant funding is being made available by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.  Newtown will receive $200,000 to investigate what needs to be done with nine buildings on the Fairfield Hills campus to make the property productive.  Southbury will get $200,000 to assess the baseline environmental conditions of the Southbury Training School site. 

Officials say the funding is meant to help communities take the next step toward reuse of sites that have been underused or abandoned for years.  DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith says the projects were selected for funding because they are ready to move forward and the properties can then unlock new development opportunities.