Saturday, March 13, 1999
Lockland wins brownfield grant
New industry could buy sites
BY RACHEL MELCER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LOCKLAND — City officials received a $200,000 federal grant Friday to turn the remains of Lockland's industrial past into a foundation for the future.
The money will be used to study a 40-acre area as well as five defunct and potentially contaminated industrial sites — known as “brownfields” — and prepare them for redevelopment.
With the help of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, local officials will determine the extent of contamination on the privately owned sites, then form plans to clean them. Once the properties are in good environmental condition, local officials expect developers to snatch them up.
“I get calls every day, and we simply don't have the land ready yet to be on the market,” said Village Administrator Evonne Kovach. “These are industrial users ... there's lots of interest.”
Lockland was one of 23 communities nationwide to receive a total of more than $4 million in federal brownfield redevelopment grants Friday. The grants were announced by Vice President Al Gore as part of the administration's effort to revitalize urban areas.
“These grants ... will help to bring these communities new jobs, new opportunities, new hope,” Mr. Gore said.
Officials in Lockland, a vil lage of 4,300 people along Interstate 75, are aggressively working to return acres of old industrial land to productive use.
The village has regained about 40 percent of the 2,000 jobs it lost because of industrial closures in the early 1990s, but it still has a long way to go, Ms. Kovach said.
“It's a huge issue for us,” she said, estimating that “well over 100 acres” of former industrial land is ripe for redevelopment.
The biggest stumbling block is uncertainty about the condition of the land. Potential developers fear that they might buy a piece of property only to discover it requires costly environmental cleanup before it can be used, Ms. Kovach said.
The federal grant money will be used to perform soil sampling and other environmental assessments, as well as to educate neighbors and potential developers about the condition of the land.
“There's a fear factor,” Ms. Kovach said. “I think we need to do that to give people a certain comfort level ... to spur private investment in the properties.”
The result, officials hope, will be thriving new businesses.
“I think that by the end of this year, and certainly next year, there will be an enormous amount of redevelopment in Lockland,” Ms. Kovach said. “Our goal is to have all of our land redeveloped, to have a good, solid tax base and to provide good services to our citizens.”
Standardized tests rob kids of best teaching
Catholic ministry for gays proposed
Cop shoots student at citizens police academy
More snow coming tonight
CPS could save $30 million
Teachers get tough on peers
AIDS patients may lose a friend
Ex-Chiquita lawyer: Reporters misled me
Ex-football player moved from prison
Judge's use of Bible going to high court
Travel data request angers county leader
Youngest drivers lead as Ohio's most dangerous
After 55 years, a hero honored
Girl testifies about abuse
Murder suspect put in isolation
N.Ky. woman wins $2.6 million jackpot
New rules released for educating the disabled
Parade honors police, firefighters
Township removes firemen
Turfway doesn't push casino
Carbon monoxide kills Madisonville man
Clearcreek Twp. crash recalls year-ago accident
Development planned for Cold Spring
Lockland wins brownfield grant
Lottery winnings released
Ohio to supply water to N. Ky.
Ramp may squeeze new park
Transit critical, planners say
TRISTATE DIGEST
True blue fans see repeat in St. Pete
