Contaminated and decrepit properties across the state will be transformed thanks to two programs awarding millions of dollars to address barriers to development, according to a press release from the governor’s office. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik recently announced “more than $55 million in continued support for brownfield remediation and building demolition projects,” according to the release. The two grant programs behind the awards “were developed by the DeWine-Husted Administration in partnership with the Ohio General Assembly to create room for new economic opportunities in areas that currently cannot be developed due to contamination or the presence of vacant, dilapidated structures.” They are part of the governor’s Ohio BUILDS Initiative, “which focuses on supporting targeted solutions that impact quality of life.”
The Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program launched in 2021 and has since awarded “more than $510 million to support 489 projects in 85 counties.” The grants just announced total $22.7 million “to clean up and redevelop 27 hazardous brownfield sites in 19 counties, including $2.4 million in funding to develop a longtime manufacturing site in Fulton County into a mixed-use development with commercial and residential spaces.” The Ohio Demolition and Site Revitalization Program, also launched in 2021, has awarded “more than $303 million in grants” for “more than 6,000 demolition projects in every county in the state.” That program just awarded $33.2 million “to demolish 1,091 vacant, dilapidated buildings in 65 counties,” including “a series of demolitions” in Franklin that “will play a role in revitalizing its historic downtown.” For more, read the full release.
