MANSFIELD — What might the 14 acres of former Westinghouse properties look like when redeveloped on Mansfield’s east side?
That was a topic for discussion Wednesday during a Richland County Land Bank board meeting, a gathering that included drawings showing potential usages done in conjunction with the U.S. EPA.
In November 2023, the federal agency announced it would help conduct a market analysis to find viable plans for a mixed-use development project on the site that included the former “A” building at 200 E. Fifth St. and a smaller section of land on the north side of the street.
As demolition and cleanup nears its end, including a $1 million change order for R&D Excavating approved by the board Wednesday, board members are considering what comes next for the roughly 14-acre site.
It was a question Richland County Treasurer Bart Hamilton, the Land Bank board chairman, asked on Dec. 19, 2022, when the Crestline-based contractor began toppling the five-story “A” building, one of the last remaining structures used by one of the city’s former largest employer that closed up shop more than three decades ago.
“It can be so many more things,” Hamilton said as demolition began. “And we want it to be that. There is any number of things.
“But it all starts with getting that (building and concrete) out of the way.”
(Below are drawings and illustration commissioned by the U.S. EPA as part of a marketing study on former Westinghouse properties in Mansfield.)
Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry, a Land Bank board member, said the EPA report offers ideas on how the space could be reinvisioned and also how it could be connected into the downtown and other parts of the city.
“It looks at the public right-of-way structure, revitalized sidewalks, making it more inviting to specifically pedestrian traffic,” she said.
“As the space gets redeveloped, it’s a great template for the city to work towards.”
The Westinghouse properties, the site of the former YMCA on Park Avenue West and the ground once home to the Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center on Bowman Street have all been demolished and cleaned up through the Land Bank.
An organization founded in 2013 with the original goal of demolishing dilapidated structures and cleaning up blighted neighborhoods, the Land Bank’s larger projects began a few years ago when the state made larger brownfeld and demolition grants available.
The $5.5 million Westinghouse project, for example, was spurred by a $3 million state grant. Similar state funds helped bring down the Ocie Hill building and the YMCA.
Richland County Commissioner Tony Vero, a Land Bank board member, said he believes the agency has correctly pivoted to follow the money made available through the state.
“I think our Land Bank did a good job of adapting. We moved to where the (state) money is and I think we did a good job. There was a need initially for a lot of demolitions.
“But as we did a lot of demolitions, we started adapting into (redevelopment),” citing the Ritters Run senior housing development with the Area Agency on Aging as an example.
“I think we need to be clear and say that just because it happens to be a building in a residential neighborhood and it’s been demolished, it doesn’t mean we’re just going to sell it to the adjacent landowner,” Vero said.
“We’re going to review it, speak to developers and see if there is an opportunity for development.”
One such possibility at the Westinghouse site is Mansfield native Marquise Stillwell, now a developer in New York City, who met with the Land Bank board in August of 2024.
Stillwell, founder and principal of the New York design studio and consulting firm Openbox, asked the Land Bank to allow him 12 months of exclusivity.
That’s the time he needs to launch an effort to create what he called a “purpose-built community hub” on nearly 14 acres of the city’s near-east side.
No decision on that request has been made, according to Land Bank officials.
Vero said the Land Bank is in the legal process of “quieting the title,” a procedure used by real estate owners to ensure they have a clear title, meaning that there are no liens or levies against the title and no disputes over the property’s ownership.
That process should take a couple of months. Until that is done, no work with developers is planned, Vero said.
Perry said the Land Bank is consulting with other county Land Banks, public entities and economic development officials for advice on redeveloping the larger sites recently demolished and cleaned up.
In July 2024, the Land Bank board approved spending up to $10,000 with a Columbus architecture firm to develop 3-D designs showing potential future development at the former Mansfield YMCA site.
The “white box massing” work by archall architects will help show what sorts of buildings might best occupy the space at 455 Park Ave. West, according to the board. The board also looked at those concept drawings Wednesday.
(Below are designs of potential uses for the former Mansfield YMCA on Park Avenue West.)
Perry said one possibility is getting assistance in seeking requests for interest from potential developers. For example, Archall Architects, the company that provided the designs for the YCMA property, would charge $4,350 to prepare such a request for proposals from potential developers.
“Is that the road we want to down? No decision was made on that, largely because we all just want to make sure we understand what all it entails. We want to do more research on it.
“A lot of public money has been invested in these sites. We all want to make sure we find the right developers and get projects going on them,” she said. “We are definitely open to guidance and assistance.”
Both Perry and Vero said the Land Bank board talked about the potential of outdoor events this summer at the former Westinghouse site after the demolition and cleanup are done, including things like cornhole tournaments, volleyball, flag football, soccer or even traveling carnivals.
“We believe we will have a green site, come (outdoor) weather season,” Vero said. “We kicked around some ideas to drive a little bit of public activity to the site. It would be a way to introduce the property back into the community.
Last summer, local officials visited the Newark Station in Licking County, once a decaying industrial site owned by Westinghouse that is now a burgeoning mixed-use new development with apartments, restaurants, space for art and retail and big plans for the future.
That effort began with just people gathering to play volleyball, Perry said,
“One of the things that they said was they were able to reactivate the site in a positive way and it started simple with just outdoor volleyball. I think what we would all like to see is just some form of activity there,” the mayor said.
“Hopefully, it will all be temporary at this point. But the idea is just to try to help us all start to see it as an active piece of property again instead of just something that sat there for many years.”
