OHIO — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jim Tressel, and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik announced Tuesday that $15.5 million in grants has been awarded to help communities in 35 counties clean up contaminated properties and prepare them for future redevelopment.
The funding is being distributed through the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program and includes nearly $8.4 million for 22 cleanup and remediation projects and $7.1 million for 41 assessment projects.
“The Brownfield Remediation Program has been transformative in Ohio, and it has been incredible to see the difference it has made all over the state,” said Governor DeWine. “Every dilapidated storefront or longtime neighborhood eyesore we help clean up is a new opportunity for our local partners to breathe new life into their communities.”
Since launching in 2021, the Brownfield Remediation Program has provided nearly $800 million to support 904 projects in 87 Ohio counties.
“A vacant old warehouse or run-down gas station does more than just impact a neighborhood’s appearance — they weigh down the potential of the people who live and work nearby,” said Lt. Governor Tressel. “By investing in a future for these sites, we’re investing in a future where any community can become Ohio’s next great success story.”
Brownfield funding is used to assess and clean up abandoned, idled, or underutilized industrial, commercial, and institutional properties affected by known or potential contamination from hazardous substances or petroleum. Once remediated, the sites can be redeveloped for new housing, businesses, recreation, and other community uses.
“If you were to travel across Ohio, you’d be hard-pressed to find a community that hasn’t been made better by the Brownfield Remediation Program,” said Director Mihalik. “These projects are removing long-standing obstacles to growth, and creating opportunities for new housing, new businesses, new jobs, and better lives for our families.”
Among the projects receiving funding is a $743,184 cleanup grant for the Tannery Hill property in Ashtabula, where former industrial and commercial land will be cleaned up and redeveloped into a destination lodge with recreational trails and a fishing platform. A $458,900 grant in Clark County will fund demolition, hazardous material removal, and cleanup at a former railroad spur, allowing the completion of the Buck Creek Trail connection between Snyder Park and the Mad River Gorge and Nature Preserve.
Other funded projects include a $400,000 cleanup of the former New Richmond Bus Garage in Clermont County to support the Liberty Landing riverfront development, a $44,000 remediation project tied to the Uptown Mentor mixed-use development in Lake County that is expected to create 90 jobs, and a $105,543 asbestos abatement project in Bellefontaine that will allow a nonprofit organization to convert a historic downtown building into a children’s museum.
The latest round of funding was made possible through the most recent state budget, which allocated $200 million for the Brownfield Remediation Program. Under the legislation, $1 million was reserved for applicants in each of Ohio’s 88 counties for Fiscal Year 2026, with awards determined through a merit-based application process.
The Brownfield Remediation Program is part of Governor DeWine’s Ohio BUILDS Initiative, which supports investments in infrastructure, broadband expansion, brownfield redevelopment, and the demolition of blighted buildings to improve quality of life across the state.
