MANSFIELD — The same local company that demolished and cleaned up a former Westinghouse manufacturing site will now do the same at another longtime local eyesore.
R&D Excavating of Crestline on Wednesday afternoon was awarded a contract to remove the former West Park Shopping Center on Mansfield’s “Miracle Mile” through a unanimous vote of the Richland County Land Bank board.
The company submitted the lowest of nine bids for the project at 1157 Park Ave. West at $886,845. The work will be done through a $1 million state grant from the Ohio Department of Development.
Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry, a Land Bank board member, didn’t hesitate when it was her turn to vote on the contract’s award to finally remove a dilapidated structure that her predecessor sought to demolish four years ago.
The city initially ordered the demolition of the structure in 2022 during the administration of former Mayor Tim Theaker and former Law Director John Spon, an effort resisted by the New Jersey-based company that then owned it.
“An emphatic yes,” Perry voted, later admitting the demolition and clean up of the property “has been a long time coming.”
“A lot of people have worked on this, so again, it’s exciting. I think it will begin a new life for the Miracle Mile. Just getting that dilapidated structure down and getting it greened is going to be a huge improvement,” said Perry, who took office in January 2024.
“Obviously we’ll see how things progress in terms of replacement development. But it’s a big thing. I am very thankful to the Land Bank, to Dan and Brenda Niss and to everyone who really has worked hard to make this come together,” Perry said.
Dan and Brenda Niss, local business owners and entrepreneurs, agreed in December to buy the decaying former strip mall from the New Jersey-based Namdar Realty Group for $1 million.
Dan Niss has said he doesn’t have specific re-development plans in mind for the property. In January, Niss said he and his wife simply saw a need to help the community they love.
“It’s been such an eyesore these past few years,” the local business owner, entrepreneur and philanthropist told Richland Source nine months ago. “We felt like we should do something with it and help clean up that area.”
Land Bank Executive Director Amy Hamrick said R&D will begin work within 30 days and must be complete by the end of May. Hamrick said company officials told her the building would be done by the end of December.
Hamrick said the biggest differences in the bids appeared to be mobilization and the fact materials cannot be crushed onsite in the commercially zoned property.
She said non-local companies, including two from Michigan, would have to pay more to bring in equipment and employees, perhaps providing lodging during the demolition project.
“And then, of course, the crushing of materials. They cannot crush in a commercial zone. If they are going to crush and keep materials, they’re going to have to haul it some place to crush it,” Hamrick said.
“We didn’t want to make any kind of exception, especially knowing how many residential properties and restaurants were in the area. They would never be able to keep things clean. I think those are the biggest differences,” she said.
R&D was able to crush Westinghouse material on site, including a large concrete area, because it was in an industrial zone.
Perry commented on the “wide variety of pricing” in the bids, five of which exceeded $2 million.
“I think it did what competitive bidding should do,” the mayor said.
Hamrick said R&D will give the Ohio EPA a required 10-day notice before it begins work.
“That’s with any contractor. There are no options there. And then they can mobilize and start immediately,” she said.
The Land Bank has an agreement with the city of Mansfield to cover cost overruns that may exceed the $1 million state grant.
“We did, appropriate up to a million dollars in additional (funding) last year. That was all approved through (city) council when this agreement first went through. It appears we won’t have to touch too much, if any of that,” Perry said.
“But we have it there because we do know on these big projects there are always surprises.”
The Richland County Land Bank received a $1 million state brownfield grant in May to help demolish and clean up the 17-acre site. The demolition will also remove asbestos at the property.
The Ohio Department of Development grant was announced as part of $61 million in brownfield grants to help communities in 75 counties around Ohio clean up contaminated properties.
The demolition will raze a long-vacant section of the deteriorated West Park Shopping Center, according to the ODOD’s announcement.
“Subsequent phases include developing modern commercial space along Park Avenue. The cleanup will eliminate a condemned structure, support revitalization of a struggling corridor, and enable redevelopment projected to generate new jobs and substantial tax-base growth,” the state said when it announced the award.
