The Summit County Land Bank is trying to give away thousands of dollars in grants — and help local groups get money from the state, too, to improve local properties.
The land bank is collecting applications for brownfield assessment and remediation projects ahead of a state deadline for submitting proposals to be considered for funding. At the same time, it’s opening its own matching grant program to fund local groups who want to demolish or rehabilitate properties or otherwise invest in their communities. And it has set aside some of that money to focus on creative placemaking in Summit County, in partnership with ArtsNow.
“They may be smaller grants, but they do make an impact,” said Steven Tholl, a special projects manager for the land bank.
The first deadline is for the brownfield assessment and remediation funds, administered by the Ohio Department of Development and given for properties that have previously been developed and may be contaminated. The state has about $125 million available for projects that would survey and clean up areas for new development. Over past funding rounds, the county has gotten about $33 million for more than 180 projects.
“It’s really made an impact on local communities,” said Patrick Bravo, the land bank’s executive director.
The land bank will stop accepting submissions Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. so it can review the applications and fix any issues before the state portal opens a week later. The state money is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
So far, Tholl said, two projects have been submitted and nine more are in the works. Those current projects include a $1 million request from Akron Public Schools for the old Clinton D. Barrett Elementary School building on Jonathan Avenue in Firestone Park, which closed in 2012, and a $280,000 request from Akron Initiative LLC to clean up a former B.F. Goodrich building at 123 Bartges St. that had been awarded money previously for a brownfield assessment.
The additional money would go toward further assessment of the site, which has been used for rubber and adhesives manufacturing, and which the owner would like to develop for housing and commercial spaces along the Ohio and Erie Canal, depending on the level of contamination there.
In the past, money has gone to everything from vacant land where a gas station or service garage once operated to former industrial sites, said Jim Davis, the land bank’s program director. Once the land is cleaned up, it can be redeveloped.
To apply for brownfield money, visit the land bank’s website at https://www.summitlandbank.org/brownfields.
Matching grants meant for placemaking and other community projects
The land bank is also bringing back its matching grant program, which dates to 2015. Since then, it’s given away $6.2 million in reimbursements to groups that want to improve their communities.
This year, the grant fund has $120,000 available. That includes $80,000 that came from a partnership with ArtsNow — and a $40,000 matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts — for creative placemaking. The placemaking portion of the grant is intended to fund projects that enhance public spaces, promote cultural engagement and strengthen relationships within the community.
A webinar where potential applicants can get more information on the grant requirements will take place at noon Monday; to register, go to bit.ly/PlacemakingProjectGrants.
A brownfield is a property whose expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.
Grants for the match program are capped at $10,000, but it’s possible that many smaller projects will be awarded funds to help further the land bank’s mission of strengthening neighborhoods and communities.
Bravo, the land bank’s executive director, said the grant requirements are intentionally vague, so the land bank can easily fund everything from a building renovation to a community garden to a site-specific theater piece.
“We’re open to a lot of things; it really runs the gamut,” he said. “There may be more projects and smaller awards; we may add to the pot a little bit.”
There is no application deadline for the matching grant — the land bank will continue to accept applications until the money has all been awarded. Because the funds are reimbursed, Bravo called it a low-risk project for the land bank.
So far, there are 12 projects in the works — they deal with demolition, transitional housing and affordable housing, among other things. Local governments, school districts and qualified nonprofits in Summit County are all eligible to apply; they can submit one application and hold one open grant at a time.
