The Moving Pillsbury Forward project just received a new federal grant worth $787,000 from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Group President Chris Richmond said this grant puts them one step closer to beginning the remediation process.

"What the grant will allow us to do is actually finish all of the lead paint and asbestos cleanup within all the buildings we see here at Pillsbury. So we're excited to have the funding through the US EPA, and we'll be able to move forward this fall with that cleanup," Richmond said.

Richmond says they hope to begin the cleaning process sometime this Fall.

The 18-acre site in the middle of Springfield has been vacant since 2001.