ONTARIO, Ohio – Developmental progress at the former General Motors property in Ontario has stalled because of paperwork – or lack thereof – according to Ontario Councilman Mark Weidemyre.
During Ontario City Council’s regular meeting Thursday night in the Hellinger Municipal Building, Weidemyre gave an update on the ongoing revitalization projects at the 266-acre site now known as Ontario Business Park.
He said he and Ontario Mayor Randy Hutchinson recently went to Miami, Florida, to talk with officials from the Adler Group Inc. about the venture’s lack of advancement. The Adler Group is one of the companies working to develop the property.
According to the Miami-based property management company, the Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response (RACER) Trust has not provided needed documentation to allow the group to move forward with development.
Weidemyre, Hutchinson, and First Ward Councilman Pam Dykes met with members of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency last week to confirm the findings.
“Everything the Adler Group told pretty much was the truth,” Weidemyre said. “The trust has missed some critical deadlines on getting the EPA paperwork that they needed, and it has put the process anywhere from six to 12 months behind.”
The last timeline for the completion of the projects, he added, was between April and June of next year.
There are two entities looking to go into the former Mansfield Stamping Plant property at 2525 W. Fourth St. in Ontario, which the EPA has called “pristine,” Weidemyre said.
Representatives for United Sates Senator Sherrod Brown and U.S. Congressman Bob Gibbs were at the meeting with the EPA last week. They have been asked to help “light a fire” under the trust.
“They will formulate letters and pressure there,” Hutchinson said. “We just have to get it moving along.”
The RACER Trust sold the property to Brownfield Community Development Company, of which the Adler Group is a partner, in 2012. The company has been waiting three years for EPA approval to begin developing the property, according to Weidemyre.
“It went through a Phase I and Phase II environmental process, and it’s waiting for a ‘no further action’ letter and a covenant not to sue,” he said.
Until then, he added, not a shovel of dirt can be lifted.
The RACER Trust, which was appointed control of several now-defunct GM properties across the country by President Barrack Obama’s administration, has agreed to sell the Ontario property to a buyer with many terms and conditions.
There is roughly $2.9 million in environmental money attached to clean up the property, according to Weidemyre.
“So the money is there to do the cleanup, it’s just that the trust is dragging its feet,” he said.
Ontario Business Park is a joint venture between the Adler Group and the Hilco Organization of Northbrook, Illinois.
