Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund

The Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) has been calling attention to Ohio’s so-called “legacy cities.”  These are the smaller to mid-sized cities across the state other than Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Canton and Youngstown.  Cities like Portsmouth, Mansfield, and Lorain.

A recent Dispatch editorial called attention to GOPC’s efforts regarding Ohio’s legacy cities citing

This is the third post in a series of four assessing the current state of brownfield redevelopment in the State of Ohio.  This third post will evaluate the progress Ohio has made in the last twenty years with regard to addressing brownfields.

Current Options for Addressing Environmental Liability 

As discussed extensively in the prior posts

The Attorney General’s Office completed its review of compliance with job commitments the state received in exchange for various incentives.  Here is the summary of its findings:

  • Workforce Compliance Rate: 100% (49 of 49 awards in substantial compliance)
  • Grant Compliance Rate: 74.4% (29 of 39)
  • Tax Credit Compliance Rate: 62.4% (78 of 125)
  • Loan Compliance

Last week, we hosted a very successful seminar covering commercial and industrial property redevelopment.  I participated on a panel that included JobsOhio, the City of Cleveland and TeamNEO discussing brownfield redevelopment, in particular, incentives.  A major focus of the discussions was the relatively new JobsOhio Revitalization Program.  

I have worked with JobsOhio on

On October 22nd, Kristi Tanner, a managing director of JobsOhio presented regarding Ohio’s new brownfield redevelopment incentive program which will replace Clean Ohio.  Many in the brownfield redevelopment community have been anxiously awaiting the roll-out of the new program.

According to Ms. Tanner, JobsOhio will start discussing potential projects now, but awards under the new

Last year the Kasich Administration announced that it was phasing out the Clean Ohio brownfield grant program.  The Clean Ohio program,which had been in existence for over a decade, had provided approximately $37.5 million per year in incentives for cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields. 

Last May, the Administration allocated a final $15 million toward traditional

On Friday, the Clean Ohio Council met to discuss proposed changes to the Clean Ohio program. As discussed previously on this blog, the Kasich Administration has repeatedly discussed completely revamping brownfield funding in Ohio.  The Administration previously announced its intention to shift the program’s administration to JobsOhio along with the liquor profits that were used to payoff