COLUMBUS, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine has announced $61 million in brownfield remediation grants to communities across 75 Ohio counties, with several Scioto Valley counties landing significant funding to clean up contaminated properties and prepare them for new use.
The grants, awarded through the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program, include $45.8 million for cleanup and remediation projects and $15.3 million for environmental assessments. Since the program launched in 2021, it has provided nearly $780 million to support 841 projects across 87 counties.
“Sites like these do no good when they’re left alone to contaminate the soil and impact the health of our neighborhoods,” DeWine said. “Throughout the past five years, we’ve changed the trajectory of hundreds of properties that once held our communities back, turning long-neglected eyesores into places of possibility.”
Scioto County landed two grants totaling nearly $900,000. The Village of Otway received $490,025 to begin asbestos abatement and interior demolition of the former Otway School, a historic building originally constructed in 1917 that has sat vacant for more than two decades. Once complete, the site will support expansion of the adjoining Otway Community Center and future community and commercial redevelopment. The City of Portsmouth received $400,208 to complete asbestos abatement and interior demolition of two long-vacant commercial buildings at 802 and 804 Chillicothe Street in downtown Portsmouth, with plans to redevelop the properties as community housing.
Ross County secured four grants through the Ross County Land Reutilization Corporation. The county land bank received $167,418 to assess a former gas station in Clarksburg, with plans to donate the parcel to the village for redevelopment as a veterans memorial park. The historic Velvet Ice Cream warehouse and distribution facility in Chillicothe received $87,860 for environmental assessment, with the project expected to support new housing opportunities and neighborhood revitalization. A former gas station and convenience store property in Union Township received $254,908 for assessment and underground storage tank closure, with plans for three single-family residential lots. The former Clarksburg Nursing Home received $95,296 for environmental assessment and underground storage tank closure to prepare the nearly two-acre site for future redevelopment.
Pike County received $251,228 through the Pike County Land Reutilization Corporation for assessment of a former gas station in Jasper, including underground storage tank removal, soil excavation and groundwater sampling.
Pickaway County secured four grants through the Pickaway County Port Authority totaling more than $1 million. Funding will support environmental assessment at Circleville’s municipal building, the former Purina Mill property, the former DuPont Tedlar manufacturing facility and the Pickaway County Fairgrounds.
Vinton County landed two significant grants. The Hotel McArthur in downtown McArthur — originally constructed in 1839 and heavily damaged by fire in 2025 — received $879,244 for asbestos abatement and partial demolition. Once remediated, the Vinton County Convention and Visitors Bureau plans to renovate the building into a boutique hotel, restaurant, event space, and visitors center expected to create 11 permanent jobs and support tourism tied to the nearby Hocking Hills region. The former Vinton County Sheriff’s Office received $109,354 for asbestos abatement and demolition to clear the one-acre site for future downtown development.