Cincinnati applies for funds to redevelop Providence North site

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/0526providencenorth.aspx

By Randy A. Simes | Soapbox Cincinnati, May 26, 2009

 

Cincinnati’s Office of Environmental Quality has applied for Clean Ohio Assistance Funds that will be used to determine the contamination of the Providence North redevelopment site and develop a comprehensive remediation plan.

 

The Providence North redevelopment site is located in the West End neighborhood of Cincinnati and has had seen previous sampling activities performed over the past five years. The Payne Firm discovered volatile soil and groundwater contamination in the area while performing due diligence work for a client.

 

The City has since worked with the firm, the West End Community, the Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to determine the extent of the contamination and protect residents in the affected area.

 

The site (map) is located at Central Avenue and Findlay Street, and is currently owned by the City of Cincinnati along with several other private parties and includes several adjacent rights-of-way.  The City’s property currently sits vacant while the privately owned portions have a reproduction company, a vacant lot, a former electrical supply company, a closed auto repair shop, a vacant apartment building, a dry cleaning supply distributor/warehouse and a closed church.

 

The property is located next to several apartment buildings with the Samuel Adams Brewing Company located directly south.  Altogether, there are seven buildings on the site with only two being used currently.

 

The site, while in poor physical and environmental condition, is a prime opportunity for redevelopment as outlined by the city.  The West End Comprehensive Plan (pdf) recommends working with existing businesses in the area adjacent to the site in order to retain existing jobs and facilitate future expansion.

 

One nearby business in particular that has expressed interest in expanding on the site is the adjacent Samuel Adams Brewing Company.  The brewing company currently employs around 100 people at their adjacent facility and represents approximately $90,000 in annual city earnings taxes.

 

These earnings taxes are considered to be at risk if the city is unable to address the remediation of the Providence North site and encourage future business growth in the area.

 

The site also appears to be a great redevelopment opportunity given its central location and close proximity to the central business district, Music Hall, Cincinnati Museum Center, City West, Findlay Market and the Gateway Quarter.

ODOD awards $282K grant for West End site assessment

http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2009/10/odod-awards-282k-grant-for-west-end.html

By Kevin LeMaster | Building Cincinnati, October 5, 2009

 

The Ohio Department of Development has awarded the City of Cincinnati a $282,228 grant through the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund to conduct a Phase II Environmental Assessment on the Providence North property at Central Avenue and Findlay Street in the West End.

 

The property, located just north of Samuel Adams Brewery Company and containing seven buildings – five of which are vacant – is owned by the City of Cincinnati and several private owners.

 

The assessment will include the sampling of 15 existing monitoring wells, and the installation of 13 10-foot soil borings, 20 20-foot soil borings, 28 shallow groundwater monitoring wells, six deep monitoring wells, and six shallow monitoring wells.

 

Data evaluation, modeling, and report preparation will determine the property's environmental suitability and the need for any further remediation.

 

Sampling has been ongoing at the site for five years, and, within the past couple of years, volatile soil and groundwater has been identified.

 

The City sees Providence North as a prime redevelopment site, and several West End businesses – including Samuel Adams – have expressed interest in expanding onto the property.

 

The Clean Ohio Assistance Fund provides grant dollars for Phase II Environmental Assessment and brownfield cleanup activities.

 

To date, the program has funded 134 projects totalling more than $50 million, 46 of which were cleanup projects that are estimated to have leveraged $500 million and created more than 4,000 jobs.

 

That whole area is very underutilized, it would be good to see some redevelopment there.

Capital account could be created for Providence North

http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2009/11/capital-account-could-be-created-for.html

By Kevin LeMaster | Building Cincinnati, November 3, 2009

 

Cincinnati City Council is considering an ordinance that would create a capital improvement program project account for soil and groundwater assessment at the Providence North site at Central Avenue and Findlay Street in the West End.

 

The account will hold a $282,228 Clean Ohio Assistance Fund grant approved by the Ohio Department of Development in early October. The grant funds had previously been deposited in the Community Development Project Fund.

 

Expected to begin soon, the Phase II Environmental Assessment will include the sampling of 15 existing monitoring wells, and the installation of 13 10-foot soil borings, 20 20-foot soil borings, 28 shallow groundwater monitoring wells, six deep monitoring wells, and six shallow monitoring wells.

 

Data evaluation, modeling, and report preparation will determine the property's environmental suitability and the need for any further remediation.

 

Long considered a prime redevelopment site, Providence North contains a mix of City-owned and privately-owned properties, including several businesses that are considering expansion.

 

Five of the seven buildings on the site are vacant.

Is this is now the Samuel Adams Brewery Expansion?

Looks like it! saw it was completely flat a few weeks ago.