YOUNGSTOWN City seeks studies of long-vacant properties

The properties are back to back, separated by Crab Creek and railroad tracks.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city is taking the first step toward reusing two well-known industrial sites.
The city wants the state to fund environmental studies at two long-vacant properties: Youngstown Building Materials on Logan Avenue and Aeroquip on Albert Street.
The city wants several hundred thousand dollars from the state's $400 million Clean Ohio Fund. Half the fund is to restore brownfields, or old industrial sites.
The money would pay to explore how much cleanup is needed of hazards such as asbestos and PCBs, said Jeffrey L. Chagnot, city development director.
There is a public hearing at 7 p.m. Friday in city council chambers to take comment on seeking the study funds.
The properties share a common element: They are back to back, with only Crab Creek and railroad tracks separating them.
Long vacancies
YBM was a concrete and building materials supply center. The 12 acres has been vacant for at least a dozen years. The city recently acquired the land through a tax delinquent sale.
Aeroquip made rubber hose. The 15 acres went idle in 1979. The city has owned the property for many years. The city invested at least $3 million into cleaning up about half the site between 1985-92, Chagnot said. Nonetheless, much more work is needed, he said.
The city studied both sites before but those are outdated, he said. State cleanup funding requires updated studies, he said.
The city will create a cleanup plan and seek money through Clean Ohio for the work if the studies are funded, Chagnot said.
rgsmith@vindy.com