City hires contractor for Stoveworks remediation

LORAIN — A contractor will oversee the brownfield remediation at the former Stoveworks property off Long Avenue. A cleanup of the long-blighted property has been in the works for about a decade, with millions in grant funds funneled into the project. The latest item approved by City Council at its meeting Monday will place a contractor at the helm of the cleanup to ensure all contaminated material is removed and the site is ready for residential development, city Storm Water Manager Kathryn Golden said Tuesday. The contract with Civil and Environmental Consultants Inc. for $304,500 will be paid via a grant awarded to the Lorain County Landbank. In 2023 the land bank received about $4.8 million in brownfield remediation funds to finish the cleanup at the Stoveworks. The contract with CEC Inc. will be paid with that grant. "They will work with (the city) and will effectively design the program that helps us restore the site in compliance with state voluntary action program standards," Golden said. Golden said there is still "quite a bit" of dirt stockpiled on the property, as well as the remnants of concrete foundations to be removed. The dirt, while not contaminated or hazardous, does not meet residential standards set by the Ohio EPA. The concrete must be removed and the soil under it tested to determine if additional remediation is needed, she said. The city is in discussions with the Ohio Department of Development to see if the soil can be used on a commercial site, as it meets those standards, she said. In total, Golden estimated about $7 million in total will have been spent on brownfield remediation for the site, not including demolition or prior environmental survey costs. "When we get it done, the intention is it will be green and it will be clean," she said. The site has to be used for affordable housing due to Community Development Block Grant funds used in its demolition in 2016. Stoveworks originally opened in 1894 as the National Vapor Stove and Manufacturing Company, producing heaters, stoves and furnaces. Operations ceased in 1954 and the area was home to other industrial uses until it was abandoned in 1981. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.