Officials see green future for ex-brownfields
Voinovich tours Dayton's Tech Town, on its way to becoming home to companies, new jobs.
By Nakeisha Rowe, Dayton Daily News Staff Writer
DAYTON | U.S. Sen. George Voinovich R-Ohio, toured Tech Town on Friday, and said he was excited to see the project under way
Tech Town is one of 10 old contaminated industrial sites, called "brownfields," in the area.
It is being developed by several companies, including General Motors, which formerly owned the 35-acre Harrison Radiator plant site on East Monument Avenue, and CityWide Development Corp., to bring in new companies and create jobs.
Montgomery County Commissioner Charles Curran said that once Tech Town is fully developed, three companies that have committed to move in, or expressed an interest, could bring in 2,500 jobs.
The companies are Dayton-based Quantrum LLC, Miamisburg-based Western Environmental and Fairborn-based Diamond of Ohio LL, Gwen Eberly, acting director of the city's Department of Economic Development, said last week.
"The country is becoming incredibly technology-based and we want Tech Town to move in that direction," Curran said.
Mayor Rhine McLin said that she hopes other organizations look at Tech Town as a potential office site.
"We're hoping that folks from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the University of Dayton Research Institute will check out Tech Town once everything is developed," McLin said.
The Tech Town project is funded through several sources. Eberly said Friday that $25 million has been secured to date.
The Clean Ohio fund has contributed $3 million. U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, has secured $5 million in federal funds.
"Right now, we're just focusing on getting the site ready for developing, active marketing and securing more funds," Eberly said.
Turner said development of Tech Town is part of the downtown revitalization project that includes RiverScape and Fifth Third Field.
"If it wasn't for the abandoned sites that are around the city, we would more than likely have a lot more jobs than we do now," Turner said. "The brownfields that we have are the sole impediment in the industry field in Dayton right now."
The bill Voinovich introduced last month, America's Brownfield Cleanup Act, is the Senate version of the bill Turner proposed in the House of Representatives. The Cleanup Act will provide $40 million to clean up brownfield sites around the country and offer a tax credit of up to 50 percent to companies that help revitalization efforts.
Voinovich said projects like Tech Town help improve the job situation and the quality of life in the area. The Dayton region has been taking more blows than any other region in Ohio in recent months, he said.
"In terms of social economy, this is what we should be focusing on," Voinovich said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2147 or nrowe@DaytonDailyNews.com.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/search/content/business/daily/072906brownfield.html
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