Kasich Administration To Transform Clean Ohio Brownfield Grant Program?

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Joe Koncelik

Rumors abound that the Kasich Administration is seriously considering totally overhauling the Clean Ohio brownfield grant program.  Multiple sources have indicated that the Administration is discussing internally making the next round of Clean Ohio the last for the program in its current form.

During the transportation engineers conference in Columbus, Governor Kasich made remarks that Clean Ohio would be reconstituted.  He said the program needs to improve upon providing funding projects that have the best opportunity to either create or retain jobs.

Back in April I wrote a post titled Clean Ohio Ends 2013....What Next?  In that post I discussed that the Department of Development was planning on four rounds for the competitive Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF):

  • Round 11 in November 2011 (applications have already been submitted)
  • Round 12 in Award in July 2012 (applications due in January or February)
  • Round 13 in November 2012
  • Round 14 in July 2013

In addition, to the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF) would receive new funding in July 2012 which would provide assessment (Phase II) funding through July 13.

The Kasich Administration may be planning on scrapping Rounds 13 and 14 and making Round 12 the final round.  If this happens it will make the final round highly competitive with many cities trying to cram projects in at the last opportunity. 

What Next?

There are no details that have been released publicly as to how the remaining funds (Rounds 13 and 14) may be used.  One possibility discussed was the Administration would proactively target sites rather than allow developers to join with cities in filing applications.  Another possibility would be to do away with the Redevelopment Ready and Sustainability Reinvestment tracks that do not require immediate development or jobs.

Its hard to comment on the merits of a new program when details have not been released.  However, there is no doubt the Clean Ohio program is extremely popular with all the cities as well as developers.  The program has been the key to allowing redevelopment on a number of highly contaminated and complex sites that would have otherwise sat idle.  In Ohio, where brownfields are too numerous, the COAF and CORF grants literally forced development onto underutilized or vacant properties. 

Because Clean Ohio was passed by the voters, it seems impossible for the Administration to redirect the money to other programs than brownfields.  However, the Administration does have the latitude to completely reshape the process for how sites get selected for funding. 

We will have to watch to see how it unfolds.  Regardless, it looks rather certain Clean Ohio as we know it will not look the same after the January Round. 

 

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Major Expansion of Areas Eligible for Ohio Brownfield Grant Program

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Joe Koncelik

These are great times to investigating potential brownfield projects in Ohio.  The State has two pots of money available under its Clean Ohio brownfield program.  1)  the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF); and 2) the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF).  CORF is a competitive grant process where applications are pooled into rounds and the top projects in that round receive funding.  Under COAF, projects are evaluated on an individual basis and decisions are made by the Director of the Department of Development.

COAF- Areas Eligible to Apply for Funding is Greatly Expanded

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This month, the Ohio Department of Development announced a major change to COAF-greatly expanding areas eligible to submit COAF applications.  Properties eligible to request  COAF funding are those located in a "inner city area", a "labor surplus area" or a "situational distress area" as defined by O.R.C. 122.65(H).  Each year the Ohio Department of Development releases a map of the State that identifies which areas fall under one of the three categories and could apply. 

On May 1, 2009, the Ohio Priority Investment Area Map was modified to reflect the recent changes made to the Federal Labor Surplus map. Under the old map 41 counties and certain cities were designated "priority investment areas" based on one of the three categories.  The new map designates 83 counties in Ohio as Labor Surplus Areas. This includes all of Cuyahoga County and most of the surrounding Counties. 

All areas designated on the Priority Investment Map are therefore eligible to file applications for the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund for assessment grants of up to $300,000 and cleanup grants of up to $750,000. COAF will have approximately $12 million for new grants in the coming year. Applications can be submitted on a rolling basis (no deadline). 

The Ohio Department of Development also modified the policies governing COAF.  One notable change is the prioritization of Phase II Environmental Assessment projects.  Here is what the Department said about this change:

In order to maximize assistance to distressed communities during the economic crisis and meet a critical need to prepare sites for cleanup and redevelopment, the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund will now reserve 75% for funding Phase II Environmental Assessments grants and 25% for funding cleanup grants.

CORF's - Redevelopment Ready Track

If you are looking at a project with much higher clean up costs than $750,000, then CORF is still a great option.  The State recently provided more flexibility to the program.  Last summer, the Ohio Department of Development made a major change to the CORF program by adding the "redevelopment ready track." Before this change an applicant for CORF had to identify in its application a committed end user post clean up. Under the "redevelopment ready track" an applicant could qualify for up to $2 million in grant funds to pay for clean up costs even without an end user.

A significant amount of cleanup funding is available in the upcoming rounds of CORF. Funding for Round 7 (deadline July 25th) and Round 8 will total $48 million in the coming year ($24 million per round), which is the largest amount the program has experienced in its history.

Unlike other States, Ohio has a lot of funding available for brownfield investigation and clean up.  Over the last year the State has increased the flexibility in the program and expanded areas within the State eligible for funding.  While the economy is down, it is a great time to explore development options for brownfield sites.  As the economy comes back the competitiveness of these programs will increase. 

 

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