COLUMBUS, Ohio – Brownfield redevelopment projects in Trumbull and Ashtabula counties are among 63 projects across Ohio receiving a share of $15.5 million in state funding to assess and clean up contaminated properties for future redevelopment.
Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik announced the awards Wednesday through the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program, which includes nearly $8.4 million for 22 cleanup and remediation projects and $7.1 million for 41 assessment projects in 35 counties.
The Trumbull County Land Reutilization Corp. received $63,771 to conduct a Phase II environmental assessment of the former Diversified Resources property. The vacant site was used for a variety of industrial purposes from at least the early 1960s until about 2013.
The environmental assessment will help identify contamination at the property before remediation work begins. Once the site is remediated, it will be marketed for redevelopment. The project is expected to retain 20 jobs.
In Ashtabula County, the Ashtabula City Port Authority received $743,184 to remediate the Tannery Hill property. The project includes soil excavation, engineering and institutional controls, and implementation of a risk management plan at a site that has housed a tannery, furniture business, winery, flea market and other businesses.
Once remediation is complete, the property will be redeveloped into a destination lodge with recreational trails and a fishing platform. The project is expected to create about five jobs.
“The Brownfield Remediation Program has been transformative in Ohio, and it has been incredible to see the difference it has made all over the state,” DeWine said. “Every dilapidated storefront or longtime neighborhood eyesore we help clean up is a new opportunity for our local partners to breathe new life into their communities.”
Since the program launched in 2021, nearly $800 million has been awarded to support 904 projects in 87 counties.
“If you were to travel across Ohio, you’d be hard-pressed to find a community that hasn’t been made better by the Brownfield Remediation Program,” Mihalik said. “These projects are removing long-standing obstacles to growth, and creating opportunities for new housing, new businesses, new jobs, and better lives for our families.”
Other projects receiving funding include a former railroad site in Clark County that will become part of the Buck Creek Trail, a former bus garage in Clermont County that will support a riverfront redevelopment project, a mixed-use development in Lake County and a former church building in Logan County that will be converted into a children’s museum.
The latest round of funding was made possible through a $200 million appropriation approved by the Ohio General Assembly in the current biennial budget. Funding is available to assess and remediate abandoned or underused industrial, commercial and institutional properties affected by environmental contamination.