NORWOOD — The city and Al Neyer Inc. failed to get a $3 million Clean Ohio grant, dampening the two parties' hopes of seeing the largest brownfield in the city transformed into a $35 million medical office development.

        Developers promise to pursue their project. But, without the grant money, they will have to worry about financing expensive, continuous engineering controls on the 15-acre property that sits on the northwest corner of the Norwood Lateral and Carthage Avenue intersection.

        “We're just very disappointed,” said Susan Roschke, the city's planning director.

        “It's a very frustrating, long, tedious process. We thought we had such a good project that really fit the spirit of the grant. It certainly puts a wrench in (plans), but you just have to take a different approach.”

        Appointed by Gov. Bob Taft, a 13-member board picked

        16 projects Monday to receive a total of $39.8 million from the Clean Ohio Fund, a voter-approved reserve that will grant Ohio communities $120 million over the next three years to redevelop brownfields.

        Ms. Roschke and Ken Schon, Neyer's vice president, submitted one of 25 applications and just missed the cut by one ranking.

        Meanwhile, Lockland will receive $2.1 million to redevelop American Tissue Mills' former site, Hamilton will receive $2.4 million for the former Mosler Inc. site and the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority will receive $1.5 million for the redevelopment of the former Green Industries site in Sharonville.

        Neyer representatives declined comment.

        Ms. Roschke, however, said that each community receiving a Clean Ohio grant now has 90 days to agree to certain clean-up contingencies. If an applicant cannot meet those, or refuses to, Norwood could receive the grant money after all.

        In the interim, Norwood City Council members will review Neyer's planned-unit development application Aug. 13. The company wants to bring medical offices, a grocery store and other retail, office and restaurant uses to the site now dominated by weeds and cracked concrete.

        The two parties also could reapply for next year's round of grant money.

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