(by Alexa Libert, staff writer - February 04, 2010)
Nearly six years after Big Bear vacated 6300 E. Livingston Ave., plans are under way to clean up the contaminated site so that it may be redeveloped.
Red Raider Capital LLC, contacted the city in hopes of a coordinated effort to help clean up the premises by applying for the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund, a grant which is only accessible to governmental entities.
The cleanup, estimated to cost more than $435,000, includes the disposal of asbestos, the demolition of the Brice Road garden center and the demolition and disposal of light fixtures containing mercury, Development Director Lucas Haire said during a Reynoldsburg committee meeting Feb. 1.
The contamination has "hindered the redevelopment of that site," he said.
The total cost of redevelopment is $1.859 million, he said. The additional cost would be paid by Red Raider Capital LLC.
City council will vote at its Feb. 8 meeting and if approved, the application would be submitted immediately, Haire said.
After the application is submitted, community members may weigh in by submitting comments during the 45-day public comment period. A public comment meeting also will be held, Haire said.
It may take as long as four or five months to determine if the city would be granted the funds, he said.
The project would be up for competitive bids. Once contractors are hired, the cleanup would begin immediately thereafter.
Haire added that residents may view the application after its submission at the Reynoldsburg Library on Brice Road.
Jeff Stovroff, a partner at Red Raider Capital LLC, said he was unable to comment until the week of Feb. 8.
Rosehill repaving
Residents on Rosehill Road may receive some badly needed street and curb repairs this coming construction season.
The city of Reynoldsburg in conjunction with Franklin County has plans to repave the street from Rosedale Avenue north to the corporation limit, said James C. Miller, director of engineering.
Franklin County is financing the repaving portion of the project using funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA).
Miller explained his goal is to have the damaged curbs, guardrails and gutters replaced prior to the county repaving the street. Those projects, he said, would be paid for using the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
The total cost of the project is $383,000 with $200,000 coming from CDBG and $183,000 from ARRA, Miller said.
Miller approached the safety committee Feb. 1 and asked for an appropriation of $4,000 to prepare documents and place advertisements so that the project can get under way. The request was sent to council and will be voted on Feb. 8.
"It's a badly deteriorated street," Miller said. There is approximately 1,000 feet of damaged curb that needs replaced and some of the approaches where the curb is damaged also may be replaced, he said.
