Community

Belmont County Land Bank Looks Forward to Busy 2024

The Belmont County Land Reutilization Corp. -- commonly referred to as the land bank -- was busy in 2023 and has plans to expand this year.

Belmont County Treasurer Kathy Kelich, who also serves as chairwoman of the land bank, commented on last week's meeting.

"We're finishing up our 2023 projects," she said, adding that two projects have been delayed. "We're contacting the contractors to find out why those projects haven't been moving forward, whether it's an issue with access, EPA notification or if they simply haven't been able to do it for some other purpose. One is in Neffs and one is in Brookside."

She said the group has completed demolition of a building on Hamilton Street in Bellaire to prepare the site for use by the Great Stone Viaduct Historical Education Society.

"It's actually located very close to the Great Stone Viaduct, so you wouldn't even know it was there at this point. They did a fantastic job on that demolition and revitalization of that piece of property," Kelich said.

Kelich has big expectations for 2024.

"We ended with, I think, 28 (demolitions) last year. We're going to try to go for 40 this year," she said.

There are more than 40 properties in mind, and the land bank is currently sorting through the possibilities to form a list.

"Right now we're developing our list. We've been working on them for the past six months, so we're ready to jump in using the new funds and get the project started," she said, adding that the land bank is for the entire county, not just for the riverfront or St. Clairsville. "We have really reached out more into the county. Obviously the riverfront is going to see a lot. ... They have a lot of dilapidated structures, but we're trying to make sure that we reach those other areas that we're in, such as Bethesda, St. Clairsville, Barnesville, areas like that. We'll be back in Flushing yet again."

She also reviewed the funding that is available.

"We're trying to get about $750,000," she said. "We're going to try to apply for additional funds through the state."

Kelich said these include the new Welcome Ohio statewide initiative, but she is still exploring its potential. About $150 million is expected to be available through that program, directed toward reusing some structures rather than demolishing them.

"Some of the parameters are quite complex, so we're still working through how it applies to Belmont County and how we can optimize it," she said. "The other program is the demolition and revitalization, which is what we've been working with. That is for commercial and residential properties for just the straight demo, asbestos removal and site greening to bring it back to productive use."

The third program is the Brownfield Remediation Program for sites that may have been abandoned or underutilized due to industrial pollution.

"We've got a potential for four brownfields here in Belmont County. We're still working out some hoops on that, because you have to have a Phase 1 and a Phase 2 done, and most of those are under the Phase 1 right now and one is about to go under the Phase 2," she said.

She said two of the brownfield sites are in Bellaire, one is in Bridgeport and one in St. Clairsville.

"That's a big undertaking for the land bank because we've not done brownfields in the past as a whole. So that's a brand new initiative that we are taking on, and I think that's going to work out quite well and communities are going to see some betterment in their areas."

Kelich said other brownfields likely will be identified in the future.

"We're always looking for brownfields that we can jump onto to improve areas, because brownfields cannot just be torn down and redeveloped," she noted.

Kelich said the land bank is also working with entities such as the city of St. Clairsville and the New Philadelphia-based East Central Ohio Educational Service Center that purchased the former site of The Experience Church in Wolfhurst, originally built as St. Joseph School.

"We're trying to partner with everybody. For the purpose of this program, it works. It doesn't cost the taxpayer anything. We want to make sure all of our schools and governmental agencies don't have to go back to taxpayers just to tear down a building, while still beautifying neighborhoods of course."

Meanwhile, in November Kelich was named to the 12-member board of directors of the Ohio Land Bank Association, which helps to steer state decisions in land bank policy.

"They are concentrated on making sure that every land bank is highly functioning, that all legislation comes through and is appropriate for all land banks, regardless of their size, to address the blight and the problems in their area," she said of the statewide board.

She said the OLBA also provides informational resources for relatively new land banks.

"They're a great source," she added.