Brook Park gets $10 million boost to clean up former Ford site

Beth Mlady
Special to cleveland.com

The state has awarded Brook Park $10 million to clean up and redevelop a 200-acre vacant former Ford Motor Company property that eventually will accommodate the Forward Innovation Center.

“There were cheers throughout City Hall Friday afternoon (June 17),” Mayor Ed Orcutt told cleveland.com. “I couldn’t be more excited for transitioning the property into the Forward Innovation Center. This grant was the result of excellent teamwork.”

Brook Park’s brownfield remediation project was one of 112 throughout the state to receive a financial boost. The state awarded more than $190 million for projects located in 41 Ohio counties.

A press release from the governor’s office indicated “all but one building on the (Brook Park) site has been demolished, but concrete slabs and demolition debris remain.”

“Remediation activities include abatement and removal of hazardous waste, soil remediation and installation of a vapor mitigation system,” the press release said. “After cleanup, the property will be redeveloped as the Forward Innovation Center, a manufacturing and distribution hub of 12 buildings totaling 3 million square feet of office, warehouse and industrial space.”

Orcutt told City Council at its June 21 meeting the city will learn in the coming weeks how the grant money will be distributed.

“The intentions for these funds will be for public utilities, water and sanitary sewer (infrastructure), and also for environmental cleanup and demolition,” Orcutt said. “This grant will also provide huge assistance for the economic development of that land.

“This was a very big win for the city of Brook Park, and we’re very proud of that.”