Delaware County land bank updates state brownfield, demolition grants; Homeport and Ohio Wesleyan projects advance

Delaware County Land Reutilization Corporation consultants and county finance staff told the board on April 14, 2025, that several state-funded demolition and brownfield remediation grants are advancing and that the county is awaiting further action from the Ohio Development Services Agency (ODOD) on multiple applications.

The updates focused on open 2022 and 2024 demolition grants and a set of four fiscal-year 2025 brownfield applications. Brent Smith, principal at Veil Environmental Consultants, said the county moved the 443 Scioto Street (Powell) demolition into the 2022 demo grant and expects the city to remove the building and submit a final reimbursement report so the 2022 grant can close. "ODOD has been really great to work with," Smith said about the agency's responsiveness on timing and approvals.

Smith and Emily (consultant, CEC) reviewed progress on other active projects. Phoenix Environmental's 7775 Dublin Road project has about 15% of its budget remaining as the subrecipient prepares final draw requests. Work at 50 Channing Street with Homeport stalled earlier because the lender required assurance that grant funds would be available; county staff reported ODOD agreed to extend Homeport's grant through Oct. 31 to align with Homeport's construction schedule and help the lender proceed.

Justin Nave, Delaware County director of finance, confirmed the county has received subrecipient approvals and that demolition work on Westland/Bashford Hall has begun. He said county staff will circulate updates as documents arrive.

Four fiscal-year 2025 applications were submitted on Feb. 19 during a brief open window that filled quickly. One applicant, the Ashley Petroleum site, received ODOD questions about whether the site will remain a gas station and whether proposed matching work was eligible. Smith said ODOD pushed back on using new tank installation as match and asked for a revised cost estimate; Phoenix will provide that revision. Smith said the county and consultant team are working to keep the project within the grant "guard rails" so costs do not revert to the county.

County and consultant presenters said the state House budget proposal (the House version) would allocate larger sums to the programs if it survives conference negotiations: $125 million per year for brownfield remediation and $20 million per year for demolition grants for the next two fiscal years, though details such as distribution method (per-county set-asides versus statewide competitive awards) were not specified in available budget language. Smith urged board members to begin identifying potential projects now in case the funding becomes available, recommending outreach to local property owners and institutions such as Ohio Wesleyan to inventory potential demolition/asbestos-removal candidates.

Board and staff noted required quarterly reports for open grants are due on the 20th of each quarter and said consultants would prepare draft reports for county review. Smith and Emily said they will continue to track ODOD review status on the four FY25 applications and report further comments as they arrive.

The board did not take formal votes on funding decisions during the update; the discussion was an informational briefing and scheduling update.