MANSFIELD — A new future may be in store for the former Swan Cleaners in Mansfield.
The Richland County Land Bank voted Wednesday to seek proposals for the redevelopment of the former Swan Cleaners building at 165 Park Ave. West.
The commercially-zoned building is located across the street from the Renaissance Theatre and Buckeye Imagination Museum, in an area now known as the Imagination District.
“We are looking for proposals that include a creative vision for repurposing this building, especially those that complement the historic downtown and/or contribute to the Imagination District,” the Land Bank’s call for proposals states.
Proposals must be submitted via email to Amy Hamrick at ahamrick@richlandcountyoh.gov by Nov. 28 at 4 p.m.
Swan Cleaners housed dry cleaning and laundry services from 1946 to 2014, when it closed. The property was acquired by the Land Bank in January 2019.
Since acquiring the property, the Land Bank has leveraged more than $530 thousand in state dollars to restore the building to a safe, usable condition.
“It’s an exciting one to see moving forward. We’ve been working on it for a long time,” said Amy Hamrick, the land bank’s executive director.
In June of 2019, the Land Bank was awarded a $411,000 clean up grant through the U.S. EPA. The funds were used to rid the property of asbestos, contaminated soil and address air quality by installing a depressurization or vapor mitigation system.
The air quality now meets residential standards, Hamrick said.
Last year, the Mannik and Smith Group from Toledo installed three 50-foot deep monitoring wells near the site, using a mix of funds from the land bank and Ohio’s Brownfield Remediation Program.
Board seeks funding to create home rehab program for low-to-moderate income owner occupants
The board also voted to approve applying for $750,000 over the next three years from the Richland County Foundation to launch its Thriving Home program.
Hamrick said the goal of the program is to expand on the work of the state’s Lead Safe program. The program, administered locally by the land bank, provided funds for certain income-eligible residents to make home improvements that remediated the presence of lead, like window and exterior door replacements.
The Ohio legislature appropriated $150 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds in 2023. Those funds have since depleted.
The land bank is using up the last of its $1.358 million allocation, with 27 local property owners benefitting from the program.
Hamrick said the goal of the Thriving Home program is to stabilize Richland County’s housing stock by funding home improvements that keep houses from falling into disrepair.
Unlike Lead Safe, applicants will not have to demonstrate that the improvements would reduce the risk of lead exposure. Instead, eligible repairs can be aimed at reducing utility costs, improving energy efficiency, enhancing health and safety and/or reducing blight.
The program’s application funding application said it aims to prevent at-risk residents from becoming homeless and assist owner occupants who may not qualify for other low income rehab assistance programs.
If funding comes through, the Thriving Home program will offer financial assistance for eligible repairs costing up to $25,000, with a 15 percent match required from the property owner.
If the repairs cost more than $25,000, applicants will have to show they have the funds to make up the difference.
The board also voted to bid out the abatement and demolition of a house at 24 Oak Street in Shelby allow the Shelby Fire Department to use the house for training.
The department had requested to use the house for search and rescue, ladder evolutions and/or scene size up training. The board voted to authorize that use after the home’s asbestos abatement but before its demolition.
Derrick Wallace of the Shelby Fire Department said the department will not burn the structure as part of its training.