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$3 million would help prepare Goodyear site
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Friday, Aug 29, 2008
Akron is seeking $3 million from the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund to remove environmental problems at the site of Goodyear's new headquarters and a new hotel.
The grant would cover removal of asbestos and toxic chemicals around a now-closed powerhouse and two other buildings on 25.288 acres off South Martha Avenue.
Partnering with the city on the voluminous application that fills two large binders are IRG Rubber City LLC and IRG Hospitality Akron LLC as they begin the $900 million redevelopment of Goodyear's East Akron complex.
California-based IRG Rubber City LLC will match that grant with $2,229,040 to raze the old coal-burning powerhouse and to complete the environmental cleanup in and around buildings called Goodyear Tech A and B near the power plant.
The state grant is needed to protect 2,900 Goodyear jobs with a $260 million-a-year payroll and to create 125 jobs at the proposed 125-room Wyndham
Grand Collection Hotel, to be built across Martha Avenue from the new $105 million Goodyear headquarters.
The state grant is ''critical to effect the removal of the former powerhouse,'' wrote Laura Thompson, Goodyear's vice president of business development.
The application contains letters of support from Summit County Executive Russ Pry, University of Akron President Luis Proenza, President Robert Kulinski of the United Way of Summit County and four others.
Akron is ''optimistic'' about its chances of winning approval, said Mark Albrecht, the city's economic development services manager.
The city's application must be approved by a regional council and by the Clean Ohio Council in Columbus.
Final word should come in December, Albrecht said.
Maximum help sought
Akron is seeking the maximum allowed under the state program, which voters will be asked to renew on Nov. 4.
The state program has $17 million for grants in December and another $17 million for a final round of grants next spring.
Akron's application will be the subject of a public meeting at 6 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Goodyear Branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library, 60 Goodyear Blvd.
The city's application is available for review at the library.
The powerhouse was built in the 1910s and 1920s. It was shut down in February 2007, although some heating operations are controlled through the interior switch room that will be maintained. The five-story building covers 48,125 square feet.
The site was used for rubber production and tire manufacturing as well as rim and tire storage and chemical handling and storage.
Piles of coal were stored south of the powerhouse and fuel oil was stored in the powerhouse basement.
The Tech A Building would be retained and linked to the new headquarters, to be built on a grassy area south of Tech A.
It will remain Goodyear's research center, along with engineering and executive offices.
Tech B Building — it lies just to the west — would be converted into indoor parking for more than 1,500 vehicles. Some space for testing facilities and offices will remain on the top two levels.
The two buildings have been used for production and storage areas, laboratories, training and testing facilities, and offices since the early 1900s.
The Goodyear contamination problem on the 25.288 acres has been investigated by a consulting firm, Hull & Associates, which has a Toledo office.
It found more than two miles of heating piping with asbestos and about 2.5 acres or 110,000 square feet of asbestos-containing surfaces, plus other contamination in soil and basement drains.
Some of the concentrations are high and will require removal under state rules, the application said.
But the results showed no major problems, Albrecht said. ''There's nothing radical there . . . not a lot of contamination for an industrial site that was used for 100 years,'' he said. ''We were pleased with the results.''
The city and IRG Rubber City used a state grant to pay for the second, more-detailed analysis by Hull & Associates.
The initial Goodyear cleanup will be conducted under the auspices of Ohio's Voluntary Action Program, which allows parties to clean up contaminated properties without the risk of state lawsuits.
Standards determined
In the program, cleanup standards are determined by how the land is going to be used and how great the risk is to others. Land to be used for commercial or industrial uses might get less of a cleanup than land to be used for housing.
The city is seeking additional state grants to begin environmental reviews of other Goodyear sites as part of the redevelopment of the 600-acre East Akron neighborhood, Albrecht said.
That includes land at 99 Seiberling St. and the current Goodyear headquarters building, he said.
More than 100 contaminated Goodyear sites in East Akron have been identified and might require cleanup, he said.
According to the application, IRG Rubber City will purchase the 25.288 acres from Goodyear this fall.
The sale price will be $1,474,518, and that will be part of the match for the state grant. Its appraised value is $2.2 million.
The sale price is based on the ''pro-rata allocation'' of the purchase price of a larger sale of land from Goodyear to IRG, IRG said in the application. The terms of that other sale and the land purchased are ''considered confidential information, subject to trade-secret protection,'' the company said.
IRG will also pay $520,000 for environmental insurance and $220,000 in demolition costs.
From October 2006 to July 2008, Goodyear spent $83,983 to remove mercury, asbestos and lead-based paint from the powerhouse and other buildings, the application said.
The cleanup of the 25.288 acres is expected to take 12 months. The demolition of the powerhouse will take about six months, after the cleanup is done.
The new hotel, Wyndham's top-tier hotel, would cost about $17.5 million and cover 20,000 square feet. It could open in late 2010. Its average room would cost $125 a night. Officials predict a 70 percent occupancy rate the first year of operation.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
Akron is seeking $3 million from the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund to remove environmental problems at the site of Goodyear's new headquarters and a new hotel.
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