BUCYRUS-The Crawford County Land Reutilization Corporation, also known as the Crawford County Land Bank,officially announced last week that it has been awarded two grants through the Ohio Department of Development. It received a $778,000 Brownfield Remediation Program grant for the Galion East School project and a $352,250 Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program grant for the Norton Bicentennial Park project in Bucyrus. The Land Bank hopes both projects will start by November.
Barb McCullough, who has been the Manager of the Land Bank since its creation in 2015, was excited to make the announcement, saying “Both projects fit with our philosophy of helping to safely demolish vacant, unsafe buildings and create land green space that benefit our communities.”
In Galion, the Land Bank is partnering with the Carter family and engineering firm Burgess & Niple to demolish the former East School at 127 East North Street, which closed in 1980. The end use of the property has not yet been determined. Annie Carter, owner of Carter Machine and a representative of the Carter family, was pleased with the announcement, “We are extremely grateful to the Ohio Department of Development, the Crawford County Land Bank, Burgess & Niple, and the Crawford Partnership. Removing this building has been a long-term project. The improvement of the appearance in the area will be appreciated, and hopefully, a new entity will be developed for the good of the community.”
In Bucyrus, the Land Bank is partnering with the Norton Bicentennial Inc. and Burgess & Niple to demolish the former Home City Ice plant at 520 North Sandusky Street. The end use of the property is a 2.5-acre park which will feature a pavilion, playground, dog park, restrooms, parking for food trucks, as well as a tribute to Johnny Appleseed and the Norton family that settled Bucyrus. Norton Bicentennial representative Randy Fischer celebrated the award yesterday with state and local officials at the project site. “We are pleased to see the support this project is receiving. It’s all about making Bucyrus a destination community.”
