Port authority announces use of $205,000 to help remediate Girard, Warren sites

Staff report

VIENNA

Officials in Warren and Girard will use funds from a $600,000 federal grant secured by the Western Reserve Port Authority-led Trumbull County Brownfield Coalition to begin the process of reclaiming land that has been an eyesore for the two communities.

John Moliterno, WRPA executive director, said Wednesday the coalition approved allocating $120,000 to Girard that will be used to perform a Phase II environmental assessment of the 26-acre site fronting U.S. Route 422 that was once occupied by the Ohio Leather Company.

Warren will receive $85,000 to determine how much asbestos is present in the former St. Joseph Hospital complex on Tod Avenue Northwest. Afterward, the city will be in a better position to remove the asbestos and move forward with demolition of the buildings there.

“The projects funded by the grant monies will play a critical role in enabling the cities to convert these environmentally challenged parcels into usable property,” Moliterno said.

“Our effort to reclaim the St. Joe’s site is indicative of our unwavering commitment to improving our neighborhoods,” Warren Mayor Doug Franklin said after learning of the award.

The Ohio Leather assessment will enable the city to move a step closer to developing the property, said Moliterno, who is also a Girard councilman.

The city gained control of the site in March after battling its former owners in court for 19 years, Moliterno said.