Bedfordtimesregister.com - Bedford looks to turn brownfields into greenbacks

by Emily Canning-Dean

Reporter

Bedford -- In 2004 the city was awarded enough grant money to clean up 49 acres of land off Egbert Road that would later be turned into the new home of Taylor Chair Co. Now the city's looking to find more funds to clean up potentially profitable land elsewhere.

The Egbert land was considered a brownfield because of soil contamination from previous businesses. It meant that no new businesses could move onto the site before the land was remediated, which would be a $4 million project.

Through grants on the state, county and federal level, the city cleaned up the land, which now opens the possibility for other businesses to expand or move to Bedford.

The remediation might have been a battle won for the city, but it was not the end of the war.

According to Economic Development Director Rebecca Corrigan, the city has two other brownfields that could be developed if they are cleaned up.

"We don't have a lot -- not as many as Cleveland, but we do have a few," she said.

One site is a 10-acre parcel on Industry Drive. Corrigan said it is the former site of RES, a company that treated steel.

"The property has been vacant for probably 20 years," Corrigan said.

Another brownfield is a half-acre parcel on Northfield Road near Industry Drive.

It is the former site of American Steel and Drum.

Corrigan said it would be beneficial to clean up this site because it is near the ever-expanding Ben Venue Laboratories, which could possibly use the land in the future.

John Magill, of the Ohio Department of Urban Development, said working with the private sector is often helpful when trying to secure funds for brownfield redevelopment.

He said it is helpful to have a business committed to the site. He said the state often awards brownfield redevelopment money to cities that have developed collaborative efforts with a non-government agency or on the regional level.

But Corrigan said businesses can be difficult to find because many commercial banks will not give loans to companies who want to build on brownfields.

"Looking for funding, it is probably best to start on the local level and then county or regional and then state," he said, adding that Clean Ohio Fund moneys should be available by next June.

Corrigan said the remediation of the sites would cost "millions." She said the city would try to prepare so it could apply for funds by that time.

E-mail:ecanning@recordpub.com

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