City leaders today marked a major milestone in Cleveland\u2019s strategy to bring jobs and investment to long-neglected corridors with the launch of demolition and environmental cleanup at the long-vacant National Acme industrial site. The effort will transform the 13.3-acre property at 170 East 131st St., along with a smaller 0.85-acre parcel across the street, into a clean, development-ready job site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Game-Changing Land Acquisition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mayor Justin Bibb also announced the acquisition of an adjacent 22-acre parcel\u2014a former Republic Steel fabrication center closed since 2011\u2014through the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund (SRF). Combined, the parcels create a rare 37-acre, contiguous site, one of the largest industrial redevelopment opportunities in Cleveland. The adjacent shovel-ready site owned by PN Holdings along Kirby Avenue further increases the development potential of the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n $11 Million Cleanup to Ready Site for Job Creation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The transformation is made possible through a joint investment of $7.6 million from the State of Ohio and $3.5 million from the City of Cleveland. Cleanup work at the former National Acme site includes asbestos removal, demolition of remaining structures, waste disposal and soil remediation. Once completed, the site will be marketed for advanced manufacturing or other high-employment industrial uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mayor Justin Bibb<\/strong> said this project was an example of why his administration, in partnership with Cleveland City Council, created SRF. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBrownfields like this one have held our neighborhoods back for too long,\u201d Mayor Bibb said. \u201cWe\u2019re now flipping the script\u2014turning a dangerous, decaying eyesore into a world-class job site. With this scale of clean land now in public hands, Cleveland is finally positioned to compete for some of Ohio\u2019s largest economic development opportunities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reviving a Long-Dormant Industrial Giant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This long-awaited $11 million cleanup marks a major step forward for a site that has stood in limbo for decades. National Acme filed for bankruptcy in 2000, leaving behind environmental contamination and an unusable industrial footprint. Early remediation efforts began nearly 20 years ago, when Cuyahoga County and the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund invested $1.75 million to jumpstart cleanup. Today, those efforts are being realized at a transformative scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ohio Lt. Governor Jim Tressel<\/strong> attended the celebration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis project is more than just demolition\u2014it\u2019s a commitment to Cleveland\u2019s economic future,” Lt. Governor Tressel said. “By transforming long-neglected spaces into opportunities for growth through our Brownfield Remediation Grants, we\u2019re paving the way for new jobs, new investment and a stronger community.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local Impact and Community Transformation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Located at the crossroads of East Glenville and Collinwood\u2014neighborhoods with a 37% poverty rate\u2014this project is designed to spark broader revitalization in a community facing significant disinvestment and vacancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis cleanup and demolition has been a long time coming,\u201d said Ward 8 Councilman Michael D. Polensek<\/strong>, who represents the area. \u201cFrom the day I became councilman for that area, I was determined to reimagine and repurpose this historic site. This was one of the worst industrial brownfields in the entire city\u2014contaminated, crumbling and a constant source of danger. Today marks the beginning of real, meaningful change for this community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councilman Anthony Hairston<\/strong>, whose ward borders the site, added, \u201cThis isn\u2019t just about one property\u2014this is about opportunity. It\u2019s about putting our neighborhoods in position to attract investment, grow jobs and give people in this area a fair shot at economic stability.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Infrastructure and Workforce Advantages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The massive site\u2019s proximity to major highways, rail access and utilities makes it especially attractive to employers. SRF Managing Director Brad Whitehead<\/strong> emphasized the unique competitive advantages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re clearing the way for progress, prosperity and people,\u201d said Whitehead. \u201cWith a capable workforce of nearly 100,000 people within a 30-minute walk, bike or transit ride of this site and with the right employer, this will be a game-changer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Positioning Cleveland for Statewide and National Competition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Whitehead noted that Ohio has ranked second nationally for large-scale economic development projects for three years running, with tens of thousands of new jobs announced in 2024 alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor too long, Cleveland has been stuck on the sidelines, missing out on opportunities because we lacked clean, ready-to-go industrial land,\u201d Whitehead said. \u201cNot anymore. In just 18 months, we\u2019ve secured more than 300 acres of land, and many of those sites will be ready for business by this fall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketing a Regional Asset<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once cleanup is complete, the site is expected to support the creation of 250 or more new jobs. SRF will market the land in partnership with Team NEO, JobsOhio, the industrial brokerage community and other partners, targeting both local businesses and out-of-state or international firms looking to expand into the Midwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team NEO CEO Matt Dolan praised the project. \u201cThe competition for high-quality jobs is fierce,\u201d he said. \u201cThis site\u2014and others being advanced by the Site Readiness Fund\u2014will help Cleveland compete on a level playing field.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cuyahoga Land Bank Takes the Lead on Clean Up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The cleanup is being managed by the Cuyahoga Land Bank, which serves as SRF\u2019s fiscal agent and execution partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReclaiming this land is critical for the city\u2019s economic future,\u201d said Ricardo Le\u00f3n<\/strong>, President and CEO of the Land Bank. \u201cThese efforts take time, money and coordination, but the payoff will be real and long-lasting for Cleveland residents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Strategy for Citywide Industrial Renewal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to SRF, Cleveland contains an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 acres of vacant or underutilized industrial land\u2014roughly the size of the entire city of Shaker Heights. Few of these sites, however, are clean, contiguous and connected enough to support modern job-creating industries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to attract new businesses to the city, businesses that have been choosing neighboring areas instead, simply because we lacked available land,\u201d said Council President Blaine A. Griffin.<\/strong> \u201cNot just any land, though; we need land that\u2019s ready for redevelopment. This is the start of meeting those needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whitehead added, \u201cThere are hundreds of acres of potential job sites sitting dormant across our city. We\u2019re committed to cleaning them up and partnering with developers and employers who want to help build Cleveland\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n About the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SRF emphasizes its connection to Cleveland\u2019s neighborhoods, ensuring that economic growth benefits the communities where it occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SRF\u2019s partners include Cuyahoga Land Bank, City of Cleveland, JobsOhio, Team NEO, Cuyahoga County, The Cleveland Foundation, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Fund for Our Economic Future, Greater Cleveland Works and community development corporations across the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":28214,"template":"","categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28213","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-neor-in-the-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/northeastohioregion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/northeastohioregion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/northeastohioregion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/northeastohioregion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28215,"href":"https:\/\/northeastohioregion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28213\/revisions\/28215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northeastohioregion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/northeastohioregion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northeastohioregion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northeastohioregion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund (SRF) is an independent nonprofit launched in August 2023 through a $50 million investment provided by the Bibb Administration and Cleveland City Council. Its mission is to transform contaminated, fragmented and underutilized brownfield sites into vibrant job centers, reclaiming 1,000 acres to create an estimated 25,000 good-paying jobs and new sources of neighborhood wealth by 2040.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n