Ross Gallabrese REMEDIATION SITE — The former Naval-Marine Training Center on Cherry Avenue in Steubenville will be remediated for economic development, officials with the Ohio Department of Development and the Jefferson County Port Authority said.

STEUBENVILLE — Jefferson County will receive more than $650,000 for brownfield remediation, a development hailed Wednesday by Robert Naylor.

“It’s a much-needed investment in an area that is still suffering from the decline of the coal and steel industries,” Naylor, executive director of the Jefferson County Port Authority, said. “There are a number of properties that need to be taken care of, and there are opportunities for economic development.”

State officials announced Tuesday that Jefferson County will receive $654,173, part of $45.8 million awarded for 84 cleanup and remediation projects and $15.3 million for 76 assessment projects through the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program.

The funding targets two sites in the county: a remediation project for the former Naval-Marine Training Center on Cherry Avenue and assessment work at the Johnny’s Tire Mart property at 720 N. Court St., both in Steubenville.

Work at the former training complex will include removing asbestos-containing materials and demolishing eight deteriorated buildings. The project will prepare the site for redevelopment as workforce housing through a partnership with the Jefferson County Land Bank and the Welcome Home Ohio program.

“There’s an opportunity there to improve a property that contains asbestos, and, quite frankly, is an expense to the county,” Naylor said. “Being able to replace it with workforce development housing is an opportunity. It will be placed in a neighborhood that is a good, solid neighborhood and provide a component we need to reduce the area’s housing shortage.”

Originally constructed as a post-World War II training center, the property was deeded to the county when it was no longer needed by the military. It once housed the old Jeffco Sheltered Workshop but has been empty since the Board of Developmental Disabilities moved that operation to a site along John Scott Highway in mid-2020.

The Jefferson County commissioners have been trying to sell the property for several years.

“The project will remove a structure that has maintenance and other requirements,” Naylor explained. “There is vandalism there, there is litter there. The port authority believes that moving forward and removing the structure will clear the way for much-needed housing.

“It will result in a cost savings to the county because funds won’t need to be used to maintain the empty buildings,” he continued. “And, as an added benefit, it will add to the housing stock and create construction jobs.”

The project is expected to create 10 new jobs, he added.

“Sites like these do no good when they are left alone to contaminate the soil and impact the health of our neighborhoods,” Gov. Mike DeWine said while announcing the grants. “Throughout the past five years, we have changed the trajectory of hundreds of properties that once held our communities back, turning long-neglected eyesores into places of possibility.”

Since the program began in 2021, it has provided nearly $780 million to support 841 projects in 87 of Ohio’s 88 counties, according to the Ohio Department of Development. The funds are used to assess and clean up brownfield sites abandoned, idled or underutilized due to a known or potential release of hazardous substances or petroleum.

“The port authority has developed a good relationship with the land bank,” Naylor said. “They are currently building three homes in the county. We want to continue our collaboration to see if we can secure Welcome Home Ohio funding to build good homes in good, solid neighborhoods.”

Assessment work at the tire site will help position the land for future residential or commercial use along state Route 7, opening the door for continued revitalization efforts, he explained.

“That property is located at one of the entrance points of the city,” Naylor said. “Once the assessment is completed, it is anticipated there will be future residential or commercial development on a major corridor in Steubenville and Jefferson County.”

Since 2022, the port authority has secured more than $5.4 million in brownfield assessment and remediation funding from the Department of Development, with corresponding grant matches of more than $730,000, state officials said.

“The Brownfield Remediation Program continues to show what’s possible when state and local partners come together with a shared vision for a better future,” said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Department of Development. “By working alongside local leaders to clean up and prepare these sites for redevelopment, we’re helping to remove long-standing barriers to progress and unlock new opportunities for our communities and the great people who call them home.”

Collaboration is key, Naylor said. He explained that the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission has been working on brownfield assessments for the past 15 to 20 years. The port authority, BHJ and the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle are collaborating to prepare and develop an inventory of eligible sites for assessment and remediation.

It’s the first effort of its kind because it requires work across two federal Environmental Protection Agency regions.

“Three counties, two states, one objective,” Naylor said.

The latest round of funding was made possible with support from the Ohio General Assembly in House Bill 96, which allocated $200 million toward the program. As required by the bill, $1 million has been reserved for applicants in each of Ohio’s counties for fiscal year 2026.

“The port authority cannot thank enough the General Assembly and local elected officials who support the brownfield funding and continue to fund it in the budget,” Naylor said. “The money is necessary and needed to help us assess and remediate properties like these two for redevelopment. It also fosters collaboration between entities like the port authority and the land bank.”

Naylor noted these efforts take time.

“This is all part of the planning process,” he said. “It takes some time to work on these projects and prepare the applications. Economic development is a long-term initiative.”

The remediation program is part of DeWine’s Ohio BUILDS initiative.