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STEUBENVILLE -- Work is being done that could lead to further redevelopment of the South End of the city along state Route 7 near where the old Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. entrance stood.
Evan Scurti, executive director of the Jefferson County Port Authority, reported to the port board on Friday that an application for grant money for remediation of the former Hanna Chevrolet site, now owned by Ohio Motor Group, along South Third Street at state Route 7 is being developed. A Phase 1 environmental assessment of the site is under way, using money from a three-county $600,000 grant fund awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2017. In addition, Scurti said, an application is being developed to seek money from a $20 million state fund dealing with removal of tanks and remediation of abandoned gas station property.
Scurti said the dealership property had gas pumps on it. He expects the grant would be less than $100,000 and could be fast-tracked through the state project.
If approved, the port authority would be the pass-through agent for the grant money.
Across Route 7, at the River Rail site, there is a Phase II environmental study being completed on nearly 8 acres, with access to Route 7 and running around and behind the area of the Pilot truck stop.
Scurti said there are 150 full-time employees working on the entire River Rail campus with five tenants, including Gulf Coast companies that chose the city for their base of operations in the Utica shale region. He said there are five energy firms on the River Rail campus.
River Rail will be going before the city Board of Zoning Appeals Monday evening to seek a variance. The change requested would be on the prohibition in the current zoning of fertilizer manufacture, warehousing or wholesale distribution. The variance would seek permission to build up to five fabric structures for the storage of fertilizer.
Scurti and his staff are finalizing a brochure to market the county to oil and gas industry prospects, including a list of more than a dozen nationally known firms that have a presence in the county.
"I thought it was really time to crystallize the whole message for prospects who are looking at us," he said.
Scurti said the brochure also plays up the area's location between the Shell ethane cracker under construction in Monaca, Pa., and the proposed ethane cracker at Dilles Bottom.
Scurti is moving ahead with plans for a summer event to invite Pittsburgh commercial real estate agents to meet local real estate agents for updates on the market in the area and for networking. He plans to have Eastern Gateway Community College, Franciscan University of Steubenville and Trinity Health System make presentations at the event.
The port authority continues to work with Mingo Junction on finding capital to refurbish Commercial Avenue in front of the steel plant, which recently was purchased by India's JSW Steel.
In addition, the port authority is in discussions about the possible expansion of the county enterprise zone tax abatement program to Yorkville and Tiltonsville. Scurti said the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. mill in Yorkville "can be a good spot for attention in the coming years." He said while the current owner of the property is doing a lot of site preparation, tax abatements couldn't be sought for new construction there without expansion of the enterprise zone. Expansion ultimately is a decision of the villages and the county commissioners, he noted.
(Giannamore can be contacted at pgiannamore@heraldstaronline.com.)