MANSFIELD — The Richland County Land Bank board has taken its first formal step towards cleanup of the former Swan Cleaners property.
The board voted Wednesday to remove the sign outside the property, located at 165 Park Ave. West.
The land bank took ownership of the property in late January with the intent to transfer the property to the Little Buckeye Children’s Museum after its cleanup.
Land bank manager, Amy Hamrick has applied for the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Clean Up Grant, which would cover up to $500,000 in costs. Grant applications will be notified of acceptance by late spring.
The Ohio EPA has previously told Hamrick that the land bank will need to remove only an estimated 1,900 tons of soil from behind the property and clear the building of any asbestos for $460,000 to $470,000.
If the Land Bank doesn’t receive the grant, nothing substantial may be done with the building until further funding can be acquired.
The former Swan Cleaners sign is to be removed by BrambleHound for $500.
The sign, Hamrick said, has only been there since 2014. Another one was on the building and damaged in an auto accident.
The Swan Cleaners building operated as a dry cleaners from 1946 through 2014. The Richland County Treasurer’s Office foreclosed on the property for unpaid taxes, and the property was offered for sale by Richland County Sheriff’s department on Oct. 13, 2017 and again on Oct. 27, 2017, but did not sell.
Therefore, it was forfeited to the State of Ohio on Nov. 20, 2017.
