MANSFIELD — The Richland County Land Bank on Wednesday approved a contract that could lead to the donation of a former Westinghouse property, perhaps setting the stage for the renovation or demolition of a 30-year eyesore.
The nine-member Land Bank board voted unanimously to approve an “environmental assessment agreement” with Pamela Coffman, trustee of the Coffman Revocable Living Trust, which owns the land at 200 Fifth Ave. on the city’s east side.
After testing is done, it’s likely the building will be donated to the Land Bank.
The building is a five-story, decaying and heavily vandalized structure that has dominated the skyline in the area for the past three decades, since Westinghouse closed its doors in 1990.
Westinghouse environmental assessment
The contract with the Coffman family will allow the Land Bank, formed in 2013, to conduct two phases of environmental testing at the site, including soil borings, to determine what, if any, contamination exists that may need to be remediated.
According to the contract, “The parties acknowledge and agree that Land Bank’s environmental assessment does not obligate it to purchase or take ownership of the property without an express written agreement.”
However, Richland County Commissioner Tony Vero, a member of the Land Bank who has led the Westinghouse effort, said recently he believes the agency will accept the parcel even if contaminated.
“We don’t have to, but we are going to take the parcel,” Vero said, adding the organization will seek federal and/or state funds to remediate any contamination and/or demolish the building if that is the agreed-upon solution. “There is money available (for remediation).”
During the meeting Wednesday, Vero cited the success of Ontario acquiring local control in the redevelopment of the former General Motors plant.
“If we approved this environmental study, batting something unforeseen, the Land Bank will own this parcel,” Vero said. “We are taking a risk. We are making a mark on our community.”
Land Bank board chair Bart Hamilton, the county treasurer, said the environmental study needs to get done and that the money is available from state and federal sources.
“I think it’s where we start. We have to start somewhere,” Hamilton said, cautioning the public it will be a long process.
“This is going to take a long time,” Hamilton said.
The Land Bank may be granted environmental hazard immunity under state law provided the organization “conduct all appropriate inquiries prior to taking ownership.”
The testing will cost around $16,300, officials said.
Land Bank Manager Amy Hamrick told the board members that the state legislature, in the recently approved state budget, set aside $500 million for brownfield remediation/demolition.
She said rules for that money are still being written, but it appears each of the state’s 88 counties will receive $1 million for brownfield remediation and $500,000 for demolition.
The remainder of the money will be “put into a bucket” and be awarded on a project-by-project basis as the funds are expended.
Vero said the group also seeks to acquire other former Westinghouse properties, including the 13-acre “concrete parcel” nearby, owned by Mansfield Business Park, LLC, of Richfield, Ohio; and a vacant building, owned by Electrolux, based in North Carolina.
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Westinghouse sunset -
Westinghouse by train -
Westinghouse sunset rubble -
Westinghouse aerial view -
Westinghouse deterioration -
Westinhouse sunrise -
Westinghouse through a window -
Westinghouse 6th floor interior -
Westinghouse -
B-W Westinghouse rubble in the snow -
B-W Westinghouse along the tracks -
B-W Westinghouse Restroom closed -
B-W Westinghouse bathrooms -
B-W Westinghouse at night
As a quasi-governmental, non-profit 501-C-3 organization, the Land Bank is in a unique position to accept the land, even if its deemed a brownfield, and seek federal and state money to clean it up, local officials have said.
According to the its website, “The mission of the Richland County Land Bank is to make a positive, sustainable impact on our community by strategically acquiring vacant and abandoned properties, reducing blight, and returning them to productive use, improving the quality of life for county residents.”
Since its inception, the Land Bank has primarily focused on the demolition and redevelopment of dilapidated residential structures, though it has become involved in the effort to accept and clean up commercial sites such as Swan Cleaners on Park Avenue West in Mansfield.
The Richland County Land Bank is funded primarily through small percentages of interest and penalties assessed to local residents who fail to pay their property taxes.
It has also received grants through programs such as Moving Ohio Forward, Neighborhood Initiative Program and the Hardest Hit.
In addition, residents in Mansfield have approved the PRIDE income tax, which includes funds for demolitions in the city, assisted by the Land Bank with paperwork, mailings, title searches and some of the demolition bid requests.
The PRIDE tax generates about $800,000 annually for such demolitions.
The local land bank is a cooperative effort with a volunteer board that includes Hamilton, two county commissioners, the mayor of Mansfield, a representative of the largest township (Madison). It also includes Jeff Parton from Richland Bank; Jerry Holden, president of the Holden Agency real estate company; Joe Gies, project coordinator for the City of Shelby; and Michael Howard, a retired colonel and vice commander of the Ohio Air National Guard’s 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield.
