The demolition had been expected to be completed by the end of last year, but it was delayed to find a suitable contractor and to ensure there were no hazardous materials at the site.
The Clark County Land Reutilization Corporation (Land Bank) was awarded the grant from the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program to demolish the dilapidated building in Catawba and a former food processing factory on West Jefferson Street in Springfield.
Ethan Harris, Clark County Land Reutilization Corporation executive director, said this demolition will allow the land to serve a more useful purpose.
“We’re really grateful that the state provided these funds to get rid of the blight in our small community,” Harris said.
To receive the grant, the property had to meet the definition of a brownfield, which is an abandoned, idled or under-used industrial, commercial or institutional property in which expansion or redevelopment is made difficult by known or potential hazardous substances or petroleum, according to the department of development.
Other brownfield sites in Clark County are the Tremont City Barrel Fill and the former Springfield Landfill at I-70 and Ohio 72.
Kara Van Zant, development project coordinator, said because the project is state-funded, it was important to find the “right contractor” for the job. She said the county started the bidding process near the end of 2022 and reopened it at the start of 2023.
A new use for the land has not been decided yet, and Harris said the county is looking at a variety of possibilities. He said one potential use could be building some single-family homes to help ease the housing shortage the community is facing.
Clark County commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt said in a Facebook post that the building, where she attended kindergarten, was “well past its useful life.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Ensuring there was no hazardous material contaminating the site lengthened the project as well, Van Zant said. A fuel tank was found underground during pre-work at the site, but it was not leaking any hazardous material.
Van Zant said the work could not have begun without the assistance of community partners.
“We’re really grateful to all of our partners who helped get this done,” Van Zant said.
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