Clean Ohio Assistance Fund Revised Application Now Available

The Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF) program revised application and policy documents are now available for download on the Urban Development Division website www.odod.state.oh.us/ud/coaf.htm. The Division will begin accepting applications for the COAF program beginning July 1, 2008. The revised forms supersede all previous versions. Previous versions submitted to the Urban Development Division will not be accepted.

The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding a COAF Training Session on May 22, 2008. The training will include application overview, discussion of changes and additions, tips for a successful application, and a question and answer session. Registration will begin the week of May 5th.

Questions regarding the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund revised application and policy documents, please contact Shane Mathey at 614-995-2292 or email at mmathey@odod.state.oh.us. For more information on the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund or to learn about Hull's experience with the funding program, please contact Jenny Carter-Cornell, APR, in our Toledo office at 419-385-2018 or jcornell@hullinc.com.

Ohio EPA Releases Storm Water Discharge from Small and Large Construction Activity General Permit

Effective Monday, April 21, 2008, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Storm Water Discharge from Small and Large Construction Activity under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to the public. The NPDES construction general permit (CGP) renewal authorizes NPDES permit coverage for those construction activities involving one or more acres of land disturbance and covers the entire state of Ohio.

Over the next year, the Ohio EPA will mail notification letters to active permittees of CGPs OHR100000 and OHC000002 to inform them of the CGP reissuance (OHC000003). The notification letter will inform the permittees that they must notify Ohio EPA by letter and will include a template letter for their signature, if they intend to continue CGP coverage. Permittees will have 90 days to respond to the notification letter; if they do not respond, coverage will be terminated automatically. There is no fee for permittees to continue coverage under the CGP renewal.

For more information regarding the NPDES construction general permit, visit Ohio EPA's website at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/permits/GP_ConstructionSiteStormWater.html or Mark Antonetz, PE, Civil Engineering Practice Leader in our Dublin office at 614.793.8777 or mantonetz@hullinc.com.

Ohio Governor Strickland's Program to Create Ohio Jobs

Governor Strickland announced his $1.7 billion Building Ohio Jobs program in his State of the State address in early February. This jobs stimulus package is expected to create more than 80,000 jobs and lay the foundation for future economic prosperity. The plan calls for issuing bonds to invest:

• $400 million in the Clean Ohio fund, to help reclaim brownfields and help preserve farm land and open spaces.
• $400 million in the Ohio Public Works Commission to help local governments with road, bridge, water and sewer projects.
• $250 million in the advanced and renewable energy economy, including solar, wind and clean coal.
• $200 million in the biomedical industry to help develop new medical products.
• $200 million in the Ohio Main Streets Renewal Initiative to spur redevelopment in downtown neighborhoods in Ohio cities and towns.
• $150 million in Ohio's infrastructure to help create a seamless network of roads, rails, and ports to support Ohio's logistics and distribution industry.
• $100 million in bioproducts that use renewable sources instead of petroleum to create plastics and other products.
  

For more information on the status of the stimulus package, please contact Kara Allison, APR in our Dublin office at 614.793.8777 or kallison@hullinc.com.

Ohio Job Ready Sites Update

Rounds 3 and 4 of the Ohio Job Ready Sites (JRS) program are officially underway. Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) plans to award $48.5 million through Competitive and Discretionary grants this September. They received approximately 100 pre-applications in early February (these pre-applications are not a prerequisite to submit a final application in May, but provide for the opportunity to gain initial feedback from ODOD on the merits of projects)..

ODOD's anticipated schedule:
May 2008 Deadline for applications to OPWC District Integrating Committees
July 2008 Applicant presentations to ODOD
September 2008 Award decisions

It's not too late to start your application. If we can help, please contact Jenny Carter-Cornell, APR in our Toledo office at 419.385.2018 or jcornell@hullinc.com or Kara Allison, APR in our Dublin office at 614.793.8777 or kallison@hullinc.com.

Harvard University Completes Case Study of Lakeview Bluffs Redevelopment

Lakeview Bluffs. It's one of the most creative brownfield redevelopment projects in the country underway today and it has been more than 30 years in the making. After nearly 10 years of negotiations, careful planning, risk assessment, and remediation, this 1,100-acre former home of the Diamond Shamrock Painesville Works located on Lake Erie is beginning to bear fruit - literally.

Contractors place armor stone to protect the Lake Erie shoreline from erosion.

It was during a tour of the 1-acre test vineyard in April 2007 with visiting scholars from Harvard University that the foundation for a formal case study of this dynamic redevelopment project really gained momentum. Building upon a guest lecturing opportunity at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design during the Brownfields 2006 Conference in Boston, Hull CEO Craig A. Kasper and Todd Davis, CEO of Hemisphere Development LLC, agreed to meet with professors and doctoral candidates from Harvard to provide the extensive background needed to complete the study.

"The Harvard University Graduate School of Design is world-renowned and extremely well-respected for its technical, social and political research associated with design and development projects," said Kasper. "To forge an educational and research relationship with Harvard, particularly for this project, is an incredible opportunity and we are extremely proud to have been selected for this study."

Doctor of Design candidate Andreas Georgoulias completed the case study in October 2007 under the supervision of School of Design professor Spiro N. Pollalis. The study itself has not only become a basis for class discussion at Harvard, it is drawing national attention from across the brownfield industry.

"The Lakeview Bluffs project was important for us in creating a case study aiming at the understanding of the intricate and complex processes of assessing, sharing, and managing risk," said Georgoulias. "Issues such as new identity creation and constraint-based design, together with the innovative collaboration of the engineering firm Hull and the developer Hemisphere, are some of the important lessons we learn from this case."

The 39-page study provides a comprehensive look at the historic operations on the property, the "mothballed" and underutilized condition of the site following the cessation of operations in 1976, the emergence of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980 and the 20 years of environmental litigation that followed, the redevelopment proposal for the site and the creative deal structure it took to make it happen, partnering with IMG to formulate the master development concept plan for the project, and the years of environmental assessment and remediation required to make Lakeview Bluffs a reality.

Stream restoration work is improving the Grand River Corridor.

Today, remedial and construction work is well underway at Lakeview Bluffs, including the construction of more than 1.2 miles of shoreline revetment along Lake Erie as part of the creation of a lakefront beach and park; the construction of an 18-hole golf course, golf academy and clubhouse; and the restoration of extensive streambank area along the Grand River. Upcoming construction projects include expansion of the vineyard; the development of The Bluffs golf residential community, winery and trout club facilities; the Lakefront Town Center and Lakeview Bluffs Resort Village, hotel and sports academy complex; and additional residential communities south of the Grand River.

Harvard is currently preparing to conduct an additional case study of Lakeview Bluffs specifically focused on risk communication. Work on this study is expected to begin in early 2008. Click here to view a copy of the recently-released study.

"We were very satisfied with our collaboration with all the firms involved in this project and we look forward in future case studies that address critical educational and industry issues," said Georgoulias.

Hull continues to participate in guest lecturing opportunities with the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, including a recent presentation in November 2007. Using Lakeview Bluffs as a case in point, this specific presentation focused on the technical, financial, and reputation risks that various stakeholders take in redevelopment projects and featured presentations by Kasper, Georgoulias and John Beauchamp, a senior vice president with XL Insurance.

For more information on the Harvard case study, contact Craig A. Kasper at (614) 793-8777 or ckasper@hullinc.com, or Bill Rish at (614) 793-8777 or wrish@hullinc.com. For more information on Hull's Urban Revitalization Practice and value added strategies for redevelopment projects, contact Practice Leader Eric Wilburn a (440) 519-2555 or ewilburn@hullinc.com.