Miles SmithOhio plans to invest $106.9 million in state support to help clean up and redevelop 61 hazardous brownfield sites in 22 counties.
The funding through the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program will help with assessment and cleanup of industrial, commercial and institutional sites that are abandoned, idled or underutilized due to a known or potential release of hazardous substances or petroleum.
Following site remediation, properties can be redeveloped to revitalize neighborhoods and attract new economic development.
The awards include $102.4 million for 35 cleanup/remediation projects and roughly $4.5 million for 26 assessment projects.
“There is no easy way to clean up the contamination at these sites; they all need expert remediation that’s too costly for communities to take on alone,” Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Through this program, we’re helping local communities reclaim hazardous properties so that they can be reimagined and redeveloped.”
The Ohio General Assembly is funding the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program through the current operating budget. Ohio’s 88 counties were each eligible for at least $1 million in funding, with the remaining funds awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Since the launch of the program, the Ohio Department of Development has awarded more than $450 million to support 374 projects in 83 counties.
Projects include:
- $10 million to the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation to clean up the former Sherwin Williams Research & Development Campus. The project involves the remediation and revitalization of the former Sherwin Williams Research & Development campus, a 100-acre property with 18 buildings totaling approximately 500,000 square feet. The redevelopment plan involves transforming the site into a modern industrial business park with five new buildings, totaling 680,000–707,229 square feet, projected to employ more than 350 people.
- $5.1 million to the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation to clean up hazardous materials in a former government office building. The project includes structural stabilization and asbestos and mold removal. Plans are to redevelop the building into an office space with a restaurant/cafe and workout facility. The project is expected to create 200 jobs.
- $4.8 million to the Lorain County Land Reutilization Corporation. The funds will be used to remediate the Stove Works site, a former industrial property used for manufacturing stoves and heaters. The site has been vacant since 1981 and includes concrete footings and soil/debris piles. Remediation activities will involve removing concrete, soil, and subsurface structures, and soil-gas confirmation sampling. The site will be prepared for redevelopment — including the construction of 70 affordable housing units and community amenities. The project will support neighborhood revitalization, providing 25 new jobs and enhancing community infrastructure.
- $2.2 million to the Cuyahoga Land Reutilization Corporation to clean up the old Shoreway Tower site so it can be developed into a 13-story mixed-use complex with market-rate apartments, retail spaces and a public art gallery.
Photo by Nyttend
