MANSFIELD — The Richland County Land Bank on Wednesday approved spending up to $39,750 on a Phase II environmental site assessment of a 13-acre former Westinghouse site dubbed the “concrete jungle.”
The work is contingent upon the Land Bank receiving a “quit claim” deed to satisfy any outstanding mortgage on the property.Â
Amy Hamrick, the organization’s manager, said the company that once held the mortgage is no longer in business.
“We know (the mortgage) was released, but there is no record of it,” she said, indicating the legal process could provide the needed official record.
The Land Bank on Dec. 30 officially accepted the donation of the concrete slab area from the Mansfield Business Park, LLC, which owned the land since 1999.
The environmental study work will be done by the Mannik & Smith Group, Inc. from Toledo, the same company which did a Phase I study in January on the long-time industrial site for Westinghouse and other manufacturers.
That initial MSG study largely looked at maps of the site and examined the histories of companies that operated there during the 20th century, including Westinghouse.
During Phase I, Hamrick said MSG looked at what companies manufactured and what chemicals, compounds and other materials and underground storage facilities such operations likely required.
Phase II will be the latest step in a process that began last summer when local officials began an effort to acquire the former Westinghouse “A” building at 200 Fifth St. That process became official Dec. 1.
The adjoining 13-acre “concrete jungle” was officially acquired Dec. 30, as was a nearby smaller former Westinghouse building, owned by Electrolux, based in North Carolina.
The ultimate idea is to demolish and/or remediate the entire area on the city’s east side, which has sat idle since Westinghouse closed local operations in 1990.
Taking advantage of millions of dollars in state funding for the work, it could lead to future economic development in the blighted area — or at least remove eyesores that have dominated the scene for three decades.
During Phase I, MSG found seven environmental conditions or areas from previous manufacturing operations on the site that require additional testing, such as:
— confirmed release of metals and volatile organic compounds in soil and groundwater samples above applicable standards.
— underground storage tanks that once contained hazardous substances associated with the site’s long manufacturing history.
— a former gasoline filling station on the site that likely included use, handling and storage of hazardous substances and/or petroleum.
— a former laundry/cleaners on the site that may have included dry cleaning operations, which may have stored and used solvents associated with such work.
— a former transformer yard that may have contained PCB contaminants.
During Phase II, MSG will install 18 soil borings to a depth of 15 feet and seven groundwater monitoring wells across the site to investigate the potential issues found in the initial phase.
The company will prepare a second report with soil boring logs, sample location map and lab reports.
Richland County Treasurer Bart Hamilton, chair of the Land Bank board, said there is no timetable yet for when the state will announce results of applications filed from around the state for demolition and brownfield remediation efforts.
The state’s two-year budget approved in 2001 set aside $500 million for demolition and brownfield remediation.
The long-anticipated cleanup and potential redevelopment of the former Westinghouse sites is part of $7.7 million in projects for which the Land Bank has applied in the first round of funding, efforts that include the planned demolition of the former Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center.
Each of the state’s 88 counties is guaranteed $1.5 million from that fund ($500,000 in demolition funds and $1 million in brownfield remediation dollars), leaving $368 million “up for grabs” for projects.
“(The state) is very bogged down right now. I don’t think they realized how many people were going to respond,” Hamilton said.
“They asked us for a lot of detail when we filled all that stuff out and sent it in. I’m assuming they are checking all that detail … which sometimes when you ask for too much detail, it’s gonna take you a lot of time to get that all done,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton thinks the state will extend deadline for completion of such work, which now must be done by the summer of 2023.
He said he’s confident the local projects, which require 25 percent local matches, will be approved for state dollars. Hamilton continued to preach patience with the process.
“This is going to be a slow process. Nothing is going to happen overnight. Good things come to those who wait,” he said with a laugh. “And we’re gonna be waiting.”
