NEW YORK CITY-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials broke ground yesterday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on a $15 million redevelopment site to be developed by the Triangle Court, LLC. It is slated to consist of six floors of residential space, with allotment for retail on the ground floor and is being heralded as a successful model for the New York City Brownfield Cleanup Project.

City Council Member Diana Reyna, who represents the area where the 456 Grand Street site is located, praised the project’s impact on quality of life issues. “The South Williamsburg neighborhood is dotted with stalled construction and scarred by the Brooklyn Queens Expressway,” Reyna said in a city press release. “We must continue to do our part and provide some real open and green space for residents of the Southside.

Meir Babaev, of the Triangle Court LLC, is developing the property. A city spokesman tells GlobeSt.com that Babaev now owns the spot, which he had previously been leasing. Contaminated and typically underused, brownfields are more attractive to developers under the project, which provides incentives to developers. “The City’s new brownfield programs offer environmental liability protection,” Babaev said. “And cleanup grants and made it more attractive to move forward with this project.”