Nearly $107 million has been announced to help clean up and redevelop several brownfield sites in several Ohio counties including Mahoning and Trumbull County.

The Mahoning County Land Reutilization Corporation has received a total of $3,466,471 for three different projects.

$560,962 was awarded for the cleanup and remediation of the former McGuffey Mall site on Youngstown's East side. The property was built in 1954 and was transformed into an indoor shopping center in 1972.

It has since been vacant and blighted with contaminants like asbestos-containing materials and other hazardous substances. The project involves demolishing the existing structure, removing contaminants and preparing the site for future development.

The Western Reserve Port Authority (WRPA) has acquired the property and plans to market it for new development under the SiteOhio program, potentially enhancing accessibility with a proposed extension to U.S. Route 62.

The redevelopment is expected to create nine new jobs and retain 75 existing ones.

Meanwhile, $225,138 was awarded for the remediation of the South High School Athletic Complex, which was previously used as a fieldhouse and football field.

The City of Youngstown currently owns the property and plans to abate asbestos in the fieldhouse and demolish it, as well as the outdoor bleachers and backfill and grade the site.

The redevelopment plan includes the construction of a 3,000-seat stadium with a turf football field and track. The project will create 35 new jobs.

"It's interesting that every time the state has offered this, they get more requests than they can fund," said Debora Flora with Mahoning County Land Bank. "It just tells you the story of what's happened in Ohio for the last several decades and that they're behind in cleaning up some of these sites."

Finally, $2,680,371 was awarded for a project to remediate a historic industrial site now owned by the Youngstown Flea. 

"The efforts to remediate and make this space safe, those efforts belong to the City of Youngstown," said Derrick McDowell with the Youngstown Flea. "We understood very quickly in purchasing the building that it's a 150-year-old industrial site and that we were going to need some help cleaning up the hazardous materials. We just studied the application and applied for the grant in December of 2023."

Plans for the project include asbestos abatement, selective demolition and the removal of contaminated materials. 

The site will then be redeveloped to create a mixed-use space for community events and businesses while maintaining the site's historical integrity.

"This building alone that we're standing in front of has 2,710 individual window panes and so you have to have a plan of approach," McDowell added. "How do you begin to remediate windows? We also have a historical component to deal with."

"Without doing the dirty work of remediating asbestos and lead and other contaminants, they can't get to the project's other phases that would be the most meaningful," Flora added. "This is a precious resource and we are establishing a track record here in Youngstown and Mahoning County about cleaning up these sites and making them productive again."

"I'm thankful that they saw the Youngstown Flea and see the City of Youngstown as a place that's got so much potential," McDowell said. 

Meanwhile in Trumbull County, the Trumbull County Land Reutilization Corporation received a total of $2,337,830 for four different projects.

$1,143,332 was awarded for the cleanup of a former steel mill site on Main Avenue in Warren Township. The project is referred to as the "200 West" project.

The steel mill has been vacant since 2012 and contains various derelict structures and environmental contaminants like metals, petroleum compounds and coal tar in the soil and groundwater.

Specific plans for the project are unknown at this time.

In the meantime, $165,000 was awarded for the First Street Former KODU property, which was historically used for settling ponds and agricultural purposes.

Currently, the property consists of densely vegetated wooded land with a large, active settling pond and three dry former settling ponds. Concerns on the site include unnatural elevation possibly indicative of buried waste.

The property is intended to be used as a park or open space in the future, aligning with the Village of Newton Falls Comprehensive Plan.

$905,748 was awarded for the former Peerless Winsmith property, which was originally used for electric motor manufacturing until 2013.

Planned remediation includes soil excavation, groundwater treatment and vapor intrusion mitigation through sub-slab depressurization systems. 

Future plans include the expansion of a women veteran-owned recycling facility. This project is expected to create 30 new jobs and retain 10 existing ones.

Finally, $123,750 was awarded for a Phase II environmental site assessment at the former Van Huffel Tube Company site, which operated between the 1930s until 1985.

The site is owned by Dietz Road Limited Partnership.

The assessment aims to identify any environmental concerns to secure a No Further Action letter allowing owners to secure a loan for necessary upgrades.

The project will create 10 new jobs and retain 75 existing ones by expanding Trumbull Industries' operational capacity.

The funds come from the Ohio Department of Development's Brownfield Remediation Program, which has awarded more than $450 million to support 374 projects since its creation in 2021.

"More than anything, this program is turning challenges into opportunities. These funds will empower our community leaders to create safe, vibrant spaces that attract investment and enhance the lives of Ohioans," said Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik.