SOMERVILLE SENIOR PLANNER NAMED “PERSON OF THE YEAR” BY NATIONAL MAGAZINE
Steven Azar Named “Person of the Year” by Brownfield Renewal Magazine for his Work in Somerville Reclamation and Redevelopment Programs
Magazine, a national publication featuring brownfields - contaminated properties
poised for redevelopment - programs and projects, announced this week that its
2012 Person of the Year is Somerville Senior Planner, Steven Azar, who manages
the City of Somerville's Brownfields Program through the Economic Development
Division of the Mayor's Office of Strategic Planning and Community
Development. Azar was selected from a
pool of 23 nominees nationwide that included city mayors, chief executives and executive
directors of brownfields programs across the country. The magazine honors one individual each year
from the brownfield industry who has demonstrated the ability to innovate,
collaborate across multiple industry disciplines, and capture a unique vision
of how to effect real change and generate positive results.
"This is a tremendous honor, not only
for me both personally and professionally, but also in terms of the recognition
it brings to the City of Somerville and the work we all do to make this a great
place to live, work, play and raise a family," said Azar. "Brownfields often impose a financial hurdle
that limits quality growth, as well as contributing negatively to the health
and economy of a community. Fortunately, many of our sites are located adjacent
to planned light-rail transit stations creating significant opportunity to
Somerville and the Commonwealth. It has been a privilege, under Mayor
Curtatone's leadership, to partner with state and federal agencies that are
willing to meet Somerville's rapid momentum with funds necessary to achieve our
goals.
"Steven is a tremendous asset to
Somerville's planning, environmental and economic development program," said
Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. "We 're proud of him for winning this much-deserved
recognition for his abilities. This award
is a reminder that Somerville's green, smart-growth, transit-oriented
development agenda is helping us to attract some of the best young planning and
project management talent in the country.
In turn, that ability is helping us do a better job of making Somerville
the best possible place to live, work and play."
Steven Azar joined the City of
Somerville in 2008 in OSPCD's Economic Development Division, and currently
manages Somerville's Brownfield Program among other high profile economic development
projects. One of the most visible is the
145-acre Assembly Square District that includes Federal Realty Investment
Trust's Assembly Row project. Through
his efforts, Somerville has received 15 awards earmarked for the assessment,
cleanup and/or redevelopment of brownfield sites since 2009. The six awards he
brought to Somerville in 2012 alone totaled over $2 million. In 2010, his submission for an EPA Hazardous
Substance Citywide Assessment Grant was selected by the EPA as a national
model. Under his leadership, the City's Brownfield
Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund grew from $456,000 to more than $1.5 million, which
assisted several projects move forward even in the face of the recent national recession.
Brownfield Renewal Magazine highlighted
Azar's work in Union Square, and particularly the North Prospect Block and the former
Kiley Barrel Brownfield site (located at the intersection of Somerville Ave.
and Prospect Street). Azar has captured
and successfully leveraged millions in state and federal funds intended to jump-start
the revitalization of Union Square by transforming key blighted sites into job-
and tax-generating transit and pedestrian-oriented mixed-use projects adjacent
to the corridor of the planned MBTA Green Line Extension.
For more information about Brownfield
Renewal Magazine, and to view the full Winner's Profile, visit http://www.brownfieldrenewal.com/poy-winners2012.html.
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