Nearly $175,000 in Ohio Department of Development grant funds will aid in the conversion of the former Buckland school into an apartment complex through the removal of asbestos and mold at the one-time school building.
J Swygart | The Lima News
WAPAKONETA — Auglaize County is batting 1,000 in its bid to clean up brownfield spaces within its borders.
Three projects submitted by the board of county commissioners for consideration by the Ohio Department of Development for funding through its Brownfield Remediation Grant Cleanup/Remediation program have each been approved — to the tune of more than $3 million in state grant funds.
A brownfield site is a former industrial or commercial location where future use is affected by real or perceived environmental contamination. In April of this year, the commissioners identified three such locations that could benefit from the removal of asbestos, mold or other environmental contaminants.
Commission President David Bambauer said a key provision of the grants was that any monies awarded by the state could be applied to properties owned by private individuals or entities.
Early last month the commissioners learned that nearly $175,000 had been approved by the state for asbestos clean-up at the former Buckland elementary school. Nearly $2.4 million in grant funding was approved for a privately-owned property in Wapakoneta and another $110,000 was okayed for a former gas station site in St. Marys.
In Buckland, grant money will assist property owner Dan Lambert to remove mold and asbestos as he attempts to turn the former school into apartments.
The so-called “Koening project” in Wapakoneta, located near the city water department, includes a structure that is slated for demolition. “We’re not sure what else we’re going to find,” Bambauer said.
The St. Marys project is located on the city’s east side, near the hospital.
“This has been a good program from the state,” Bambauer said. “We learned in November that luckily all our projects had been awarded. Some of the bids have already gone out and they’ve been below estimates.”
