Patt- McDaniel Announces More Than $20 Million In Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund Grants To Communities

COLUMBUS, OH – May 18, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Ohio Department of Development Interim Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel today announced more than $20 million in Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grants to 11 brownfield clean-up projects throughout the state. The funding, approved at a Clean Ohio Council Round Six award meeting, will allow for the reuse of idle commercial and industrial properties and is expected to initially create and retain more than 550 jobs.

“From expanding college facilities to redeveloping residential neighborhoods, the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund gives Ohio’s communities a much-needed boost,” said Patt-McDaniel. “Brownfield redevelopment allows our communities to reclaim and improve their properties, making property that was once viable ready for new development and spurring economic growth.”

The Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund program is a statewide competitive program that provides grants of up to $3 million to acquire property, demolish structures, conduct environmental cleanup, and improve infrastructure on or serving a brownfield property. Since its inception, 72 Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund projects have been awarded more than $172 million, leveraging more than $2 billion in private sector investment creating and/or retaining more than 10,000 jobs. The grants are contingent upon State Controlling Board approval.
Round Six Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund award recipients are as follows:

City of Akron (Goodyear Building 116) – The City of Akron will receive a $956,049 Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to complete remediation and demolition activities at the former Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s Building 116. Built in the early 1900s and used by Goodyear to store and manufacture rubber products, the vacant building contains environmental hazards and is seriously deteriorated and structurally unsound. With the help of Clean Ohio funding, the City will complete the necessary environmental remediation and demolition activities and work closely with its development partner, IRG Rubber City LLC, to realize this property’s full potential as new manufacturing or commercial space.

City of Barberton (888 Wooster Road Redevelopment) – The City of Barberton will receive a $1,512,889 Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to conduct demolition and remediation activities at the former Pittsburgh Plate Glass property located near the city’s downtown. The first known use of the property was by Columbia Chemical Company, later known as Pittsburgh Plate Glass, who began industrial operations prior to 1904 and continued to occupy the site until the late 1990s. Once the environmental cleanup phase is complete, the City intends to market the property to targeted entities that are aligned with or would benefit from Barberton’s existing cluster industries, including precision metals machining and fabrication, energy and chemical research and development, polymer product manufacturing, and warehousing/distributing. Ultimately, the City plans to negotiate a commercial/industrial project with the potential to create up to 50 new jobs.

City of Canton (Former Canton Drop Forge Property) – The City of Canton will receive a $1,661,348 Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to conduct environmental remediation activities at the former Canton Drop Forge Property. From 1914 through 1970, the former Canton Drop Forging and Manufacturing and the Canton Iron & Metal Company operated facilities on this property. In the late 1980s, the remaining structures were razed. Once the remediation is complete, White Motors LLC plans to invest more than $50 million to develop approximately 200,000 square feet of Class A Corporate Headquarter Office Space and 35,000 square feet of first floor retail and restaurant space.

Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners (Tri-C Expansion/Metrohealth) – Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners will receive a $3 million Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to conduct remediation and demolition activities for the Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) Expansion/Metrohealth project. The project property has been used for medical purposes since 1913, including use as a tuberculosis sanitarium, a skilled nursing facility, and a children’s hospital. A 200,000 square-foot hospital facility and smaller dormitory structure will be abated of asbestos and demolished. With the help of Clean Ohio, the 41.8-acre site will be remediated and redeveloped, resulting in construction of new facilities which will allow Cuyahoga Community College to expand their medical and nursing based programs.

City of Cuyahoga Falls (Buckeye Mixed-Use Redevelopment) – The City of Cuyahoga Falls will receive a $1,827,722 Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to conduct environmental remediation activities at the Buckeye Mixed-Use Redevelopment Project. The property was previously farmland and converted into a trap shooting facility in the 1960s. The lead shot from the trap shooting caused extensive near-surface lead contamination on the ground and an on-site pond. The Clean Ohio funding will be used to remove the lead impacted soil. This 30-acre site adjacent to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park will be redeveloped into a residential neighborhood.

City of Cuyahoga Falls (Former State Road Shopping Center) – The City of Cuyahoga Falls will receive a $2 million Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to conduct demolition and environmental remediation activities at the former State Road Shopping Center. Once vibrant, this 25-acre shopping area now contains two outdated multi-level vacant anchor stores, numerous smaller vacant storefronts, and large parking areas. Clean Ohio Funds will help the City remediate the contamination, demolish more than 350,000 square feet of decaying building, and redevelop the site into a new mixed-use center. The City plans to fast track this project with demolition as early as August 2009, and subsequent redevelopment planned for spring 2010.

City of Dayton (Monument Avenue Gateway Project) – The City of Dayton will receive a $1,004,430 Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to conduct environmental remediation activities at the Monument Avenue Gateway project site. Between 1940 and 1977, this property served as the Duro Pump Company. Then, in 1977, General Motors purchased it and operated a process wastewater treatment facility here from 1981 to 1996, when the facility ceased operations. With Clean Ohio funding, the City of Dayton plans to demolish existing on-site structures and conduct environmental cleanup of the project property, resulting in a shovel-ready site for a future redevelopment opportunity within the proposed Ballpark District Riverfront Development, a planned mixed-use urban entertainment district.

City of Fairborn (CEMEX Town Plant Redevelopment) – The City of Fairborn will receive a $2.8 million Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to conduct environmental remediation activities at the CEMEX Town Plant Redevelopment site. Since the 1920s, this property has been occupied by a series of cement and building material manufacturers. CEMEX has donated the property to the City. The Clean Ohio funding will be used by the City to demolish structures and remediate contaminants from past uses. The property will be redeveloped as the Calamityville Tactical Laboratory which will be run by the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, National Center for Medical Readiness. This facility will serve as a self-sustaining, all-hazard training environment for first providers, such as law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services, and first receivers, such as physicians, nurses, and hospital staff.

Franklin County Board of Commissioners (Columbus Heliport/North Gowdy) – The Franklin County Board of Commissioners will receive a $3 million Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to conduct environmental remediation activities at the Columbus Heliport/North Gowdy project site. In the early 1900s, Gowdy Field was a community garden before being turned into a city park in the 1940s with more than 20 baseball diamonds. As park usage dwindled, the property began operating as an unregulated landfill through the 1950s through the early 1970s. Today, the Gowdy North site is home to the City of Columbus’ Police Heliport site. With Clean Ohio funding, the site will be transformed into a medical office development, serving The Ohio State University’s James Care Ambulatory Women’s Oncology Center.

Southern Ohio Port Authority (Former Diesel Repair Shop Property) – The Southern Ohio Port Authority will receive a $976,309 Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to conduct environmental remediation activities at the former Diesel Repair Shop Property. The project property has been occupied for industrial purposes since the turn of the century, serving until 2002 as the Diesel Repair Shop within the integrated steel mill operations. Clean Ohio funding support remediation activities at the property in preparation for its redevelopment as an outdoor steel storage area operated by the known end-user, Infra-Metals. This project compliments the Village of New Boston’s Enterprise Strategic Plan.

City of Warren (Former Mahoningside Property) – The City of Warren will receive a $1,358,607 million Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant to conduct environmental remediation activities at the former Mahoningside Property. The former Mahoningside Power Plant is located along the Mahoning River and was used for industrial purposes since the beginning of the 20th century. The earliest known use of the site was for the production of electric lamps and bulbs by the Sterling Electrical Manufacturing Company. The most consistent use of the site has been for the generation of electricity. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funded an extensive polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) cleanup at the property, but additional remedial activities are needed to make the property safe and ready for reuse. With Clean Ohio funding, the City will be able to complete demolition and remediation at the site and begin marketing the land for either commercial or industrial use.
The Clean Ohio Fund, which restores, protects, and connects Ohio’s important natural and urban places, by preserving green space and farmland, improving outdoor recreation, and by cleaning up brownfields to encourage redevelopment and revitalize communities. For more information about the Clean Ohio Fund, visit www.clean.ohio.gov.

The Urban Development Division assists communities with place-based redevelopment which creates wealth from personal, business and community successes. The Urban Development Division works to identify the resources and financing necessary to enhance the economic viability of local communities.

Working with our partners across business, state and local governments, academia, and the non-profit sector, the Ohio Department of Development works to attract, create, grow, and retain businesses through competitive incentives and targeted investments. Engaged every day in marketing, innovating, investing, and collaborating, the Ohio Department of Development works at the speed of business to accelerate and support the teamwork that is absolutely necessary for success by providing financial, informational, and technical assistance to those making an investment in Ohio’s future.

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