OHIO LEATHERWORKS Girard plans to buy property

By Lee Murray

TheNewsOutlet.org

Girard

Girard City Council passed an ordinance last week to purchase the land formerly occupied by the Ohio Leatherworks for $1.

“We have been embroiled in legal matters concerning that property since 1995,” said Girard Mayor James Melfi. “This has dragged on much longer than needed. But with all that behind us, we have come to a situation where it is going to be the city of Girard that will take ownership of the property.”

The land has been standing idle since the leatherworks closed in 1970. Girard’s purchase of the property is part of ongoing negotiations with the current and former owners of the site.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has been overseeing negotiations between Navy Friends, the current owners, and Berk Enterprises, former owners of the site, to come to a settlement agreement that would mean transferring ownership of the property to the city.

Melfi said that once in control of the property, the city will pursue state funds for brownfield restoration. Restrictions on those grants mean that only public entities may receive the money and benefit from it.

Investors bought the former leatherworks structure in 1995 with plans of turning the building into an apartment complex. Later that year, the building was destroyed by fire until the city razed it.

The OEPA has conducted initial inspections of the site, with much more stringent inspections due after the property title changes hands. The city will await the results of inspection and cleanup before making solid plans for the site, though Melfi said that it would be ideal for mixed use, commercial, business and leisure.

“There’s 27 acres bordering the Mahoning River,” Melfi said. “The proposed bike and walking trail is in that area. It has access to the river. It has a lot of potential.”

Melfi added that the city is involved in a separate eminent-domain case involving an abandoned railroad that is adjacent to the leatherworks property and the river that could be used recreationally.

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