Columbus projects awarded nearly $29M in brownfield remediation grants from state
By Bonnie Meibers – Staff reporter , Columbus Business First | Aug 13, 2024
Six Columbus projects have been awarded brownfield remediation grants to help redevelop sites.
Ohio’s Brownfield Remediation Grant program started in 2021 and since then has awarded more than $450 million to support 374 projects in 83 counties. Developers seeking a piece of those funds must go through a lead entity. In Franklin County, that is the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corp.
Curtiss Williams, CEO of COCIC, said the organization applied for six projects and all six were awarded grants, totaling nearly $29 million.
“This state grant helps revive older parts of Columbus, which are areas redevelopment is needed,” Williams said. “Many of these buildings or sites are hard to reuse. To clean them up is a tremendous benefit for the entire community.”
Eligible costs associated with projects include infrastructure, engineering controls, costs associated with submitting for a regulatory review and costs associated with employing a certified professional, like a remediation expert.
“The state is making a wise decision to invest in removing these issue properties and create opportunity,” Williams said.
Whittier Peninsula
The Whittier Peninsula project received a $10 million grant.
North Carolina-based Zimmer Development Co. plans to build three seven-story buildings at 142 W. Whittier St., near Scioto Audubon Metro Park. Each building will have 260 units. About 10% of them will be priced for those making 80% of the area median income. The developer isn’t using a government subsidy for those affordable units.
The project was approved by Columbus City Council in 2022. The site spans about 16 acres and it was historically used as a rail and scrap yard, so much of the soil needs to be removed or capped.
Landon Zimmer, managing partner of the firm, said in addition to housing, there will be about 10 acres of green space available to tenants and the public.
“We want this to be as complementary to the park as possible,” he said.
Sampling of soils is already underway and cleanup of the site will start in the next month or so, Zimmer told me. Construction will likely start early next year.
“This grant allows us to commit more money to the project for things like a pollinator garden or green roof,” Zimmer said. “We were always planning to clean the site, so this is definitely a bonus that allows us to make the project even better.”
Cleveland developers get dollars for Columbus-area projects
Two Cleveland groups seeking to redevelop parts of Columbus also received grant funds.
Cleveland-based NRP Group was awarded $5.3 million to help clean up a site at 45 W. Barthman Ave., which is adjacent to railroad tracks.
Scott Skinner, a development consultant for the firm, said the project specifics will depend on Low Income Housing Tax Credits and potential city funds, but the plan is to build about 200 apartments at the former industrial site.
“The site has a lot of challenges, so this really helps create a developable site,” Skinner told me. “We’re trying to get to a place where we can develop.”
NRP also is currently building a 245-unit housing project on the site of the former Rice Bowl restaurant. Tenants will move in early next year, Skinner said.
Both projects are on Columbus’ south side, which Skinner said is growing.
“We see development continuing to move down High Street,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re able to preserve some affordability in the south side.”
The developer seeking to transform the Ohio National Bank building was awarded $1.7 million in grant funds. Cleveland-based Harsax Management plans to redevelop the bank building into a restaurant, but keep as much of the historic character as possible.
In addition to a restaurant or food hall on the ground floor, there are plans to renovate the basement to be a speakeasy and add six apartments or short-term rental units to the upper floors, which were originally used for offices.
The project also recently received a $1.45 million Ohio Historic Tax Credit. According to the state, the total project cost is $14.6 million.
Harsax CEO Randall Sacks previously told me that the tax credits and remediation grant would be key to starting the project.
Downtown Columbus projects
Columbus developer Brad DeHays was awarded a $5.1 million remediation grant to redevelop the former Department of Job and Family Services building in downtown Columbus at 145 S. Front St.
The building needs asbestos and mold removal before being redeveloped into a mixed-use project, with office space, retail and a gym.
DeHays, of Connect Real Estate, said he is in talks with a tenant that would take all of the office space and some of the retail space. The first two floors will be commercial use and the upper four floors will be apartments – made with modulars from the Connect Housing Blocks facility, another DeHays endeavor.
“This grant helps take away some of the risk,” DeHays said. “Which is especially important in a time like this (with high interest rates).”
The redevelopment of the former Knights of Columbus and Salesian Boys and Girls Club building downtown also got a $1.8 million grant.
New England-based Beacon Communities wants to convert the building at 80 S. 6th St. into 72 apartments.
The five-story building was built in 1927 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. The building has been vacant for years and will require asbestos abatement before work can begin, according to information submitted to the state.
This project was first proposed back in 2022.
Just across the Olentangy River, a project that would redevelop a 12.5-acre site at 800 King Ave. was also awarded grant funds – $4.7 million.
The site has been used for industrial purposes since 1928. It is partially occupied by National Electric Coil Inc., which is listed as the developer in documents submitted to the state.
Planned remediation includes removing and disposing of contaminated soil, groundwater remediation and installation of engineering controls to prevent vapor intrusion.
The project aims to ready the site for redevelopment, with plans for light industrial use at the back portion and multifamily development at the front, according to those documents.