26 Northeast Ohio Projects Win State Brownfield Grants

Michelle Jarboe, Crain's

Twenty-six Northeast Ohio applicants won state grants this week to clean up or study contaminated properties, ranging from former manufacturing complexes in Cleveland to an abandoned auto salvage yard in Barberton.

Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced more than $60 million in grants on Tuesday, April 26, in the first batch of awards through Ohio's new brownfield remediation program. The money will flow to 78 projects in 35 counties, with most of the cash going toward costly clean-up efforts.

The program, created last year as part of the state's biennial budget, has a total price tag of $350 million. So there's plenty of money left to award. The Ohio Department of Development still is vetting many first-round funding requests and working with applicants to resolve any issues.

The initial application deadline was Jan. 31. The state received 204 requests totaling $262 million. Since the program is undersubscribed, it's possible that every round-one deal eventually will receive a grant.

More announcements will occur "in coming months," according to a news release from the governor's office.

"These hazardous, decaying sites — some of which have been vacant for decades — are barriers to economic growth and community revitalization," DeWine, who is up for reelection this year, said in the news release, "but now, we're going to help breathe new life into these areas. The projects we're funding today will not only revive these sites for new development, but they'll also improve quality of life and open the door for exciting new opportunities for citizens of our state."

Thirteen Cuyahoga County projects secured nearly $19.7 million in grants.

The largest award went to WXZ Development, a Fairview Park company planning a redevelopment of the old Ferry Cap & Set Screw Co. complex in the Flats. That project won $4.2 million to address asbestos, hazardous soils and waste removal.

The team behind Studio West, a Lakewood project that includes the former Phantasy Entertainment Complex on Detroit Avenue, won just over $4 million for remediation. The grant will go toward asbestos abatement and will help set the stage for demolition of an empty National Tire & Battery building.

The investor group behind Opportunity Commerce Park, a planned redevelopment along Woodland Avenue near East 55th Street in Cleveland, won almost $2.2 million. The 18-acre parcel, not far from the western end of the Opportunity Corridor, was used in the past as a scrapyard and coal storage.

Beachwood-based TurnDev plans to construct a 140,000-square-foot industrial building on the site, according to a project summary provided by the state.

A clean-up effort at the high-profile Westinghouse complex, at 5800 Breakwater Ave. in Cleveland, won more than $2.6 million. Michael Trebilcock Jr. acquired the 3.6-acre property in October and is planning a mixed-use redevelopment.

Great Lakes Brewing Co. landed $1.9 million to clean up former industrial land on Scranton Peninsula, where the craft brewer acquired 8 acres in 2018. The site could become a tap room and riverfront brewery, though Great Lakes has not announced a firm plan or construction timeline.

Two developers won clean-up grants for work at former Cleveland schools, which are set to become apartments.

On the West Side, Sustainable Community Associates received $1.5 million to help remake Nathaniel Hawthorne, a shuttered elementary school in the Jefferson neighborhood. And on the East Side, a $1 million grant will help Beacon Communities redevelop the Empire school building in Glenville.

The other Cuyahoga County winners were:

• Vesta Corp., which landed $775,000 in clean-up funding for Lynette Gardens, a senior apartment project on Ansel Road in Cleveland's Hough neighborhood.

• A long-discussed arts incubator called the Foundry, on East 71st Street, which secured a $670,000 clean-up grant.

 Bridgeworks, an Ohio City project where developers will use a $223,500 grant to help fund asbestos abatement and demolition. The site, at West 25th Street and Detroit Avenue, is earmarked for apartments, a hotel, parking and retail space.

• CCH Development Corp., a nonprofit affiliate of the MetroHealth System, which won a $113,094 grant to study a former gas-station site slated for a senior-housing project.

• The Great Lakes Towing Co., which won $76,500 in assessment funding to evaluate a 5-acre property along the Cuyahoga River. The company, which runs a tugboat fleet and oversees a shipyard, hopes to build a new shipyard facility and to relocate its offices and parking to the property.

• Developer Richard Singleton, who received a $220,000 grant to study a forgotten apartment building in Glenville and adjacent land. He plans to restore the building, on Parkwood Drive, as housing.

Lorain County applicants netted five awards.

The largest grant, just over $4 million, went to the city of Lorain for the cleanup of the 20-acre Lorain Pellet Terminal property. The project will include a riverfront access trail, and potential redevelopment plans span everything from park space to recreational facilities to a training and conference center.

In downtown Elyria, developer Kevin Flanigan won a $590,000 clean-up grant for Forge 417, his planned makeover of two largely vacant buildings on Broad Street. The project will include an esports arena, with offices and classrooms upstairs and a restaurant facing the street.

The city of Avon Lake received a $300,000 assessment grant for the Avon Lake Power Plant. The plant recently closed, raising the prospect of redevelopment for the 40-acre property.

A project called Gateway Business Park, in Lorain, won $300,000 in assessment funding for a site with a heavy industrial past. The property has been near-vacant for two decades.

And the city of Lorain won a $195,750 assessment grant for the former site of St. Joseph Hospital, which was partially demolished last year.

In Portage County, the city of Kent won a $331,000 grant to clean up land where a dry-cleaning operation once stood.

In Stark County, the Renkert Building redevelopment in Canton secured $3.4 million in clean-up funds for asbestos, mold and other hazards. The historic downtown building is set to become an extended-stay hotel and restaurant.

Six Summit County projects won grants, with a $6.4 million award in Akron leading the way. Industrial Realty Group LLC landed that money for its ongoing redevelopment of the old Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. campus. The grant will help prepare nine deteriorating buildings for demolition.

Barberton won two grants — $200,000 to clean up asbestos, lead and debris at a pair of vacant buildings near downtown; and $250,000 to study land slated for development and a recreational trail.

Hudson secured a $211,612 grant to remove contaminated concrete pads and a buried thermal system on a 498-acre former youth development center site. Much of the property will be preserved as green space, controlled by Summit Metro Parks and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. The rest could become a business park for office and industrial users.

And the Summit County Land Bank won two assessment grants, to study a former automotive scrapyard ($125,709) and to evaluate a stretch of Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls, where demolition will make way for 50 townhouses.

The maximum potential clean-up award is $10 million. The cap on assessment funding is $300,000 per project. The state required private property owners and developers to partner with public-sector entities on their applications.

Officials reserved $1 million in grants for each of Ohio's 88 counties. The development department is accepting a second round of applications from counties that did not exhaust that set-aside. After June 30, any leftover funds will be added to the general pool.

"This program, when fully executed, will provide millions of dollars to communities throughout Ohio," Jason Warner, director of strategic engagement at the Greater Ohio Policy Center, said in a news release. "And along with millions more in leveraged funds from the local governments and the private sector, we can begin the process of eliminating these scourges of economic progress across the state."