Summit County recently secured a $1.2 million community-wide Brownfield Assessment Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This is a meaningful win for the region, made possible through strong partnerships and a shared belief in the value of working together.
The Fund helped bring this opportunity into focus. From the outset, we recognized that this grant aligned with ongoing efforts to prepare land for future growth. However, the energy and commitment of a broad group of partners made it possible to take the idea from conversation to action. Local governments, community development leaders, and civic organizations came together to shape a thoughtful, competitive proposal rooted in the region’s needs.
Brownfield work takes time—and a lot of it. Industrial brownfields are costly to assess and even more expensive to remediate. The timeline and financial risk often far exceed what traditional real estate markets are willing to bear. That’s a big reason why we so often see new development leapfrogging to outlying greenfields instead of reinvesting in existing job hubs. If we want our priority job hubs to truly thrive, we need to stay the course. That’s why the Fund’s commitment to this long-haul work is so critical.
The funding will support environmental assessments, planning, and engagement efforts across areas with untapped potential. These include the Romig Road Corridor, the Akron Airport Area, the Innerbelt, Summit Lake, and parts of Cuyahoga Falls and North Akron. In each of these places, the grant enables the first critical steps toward safe and productive reuse of properties that have sat idle for too long.
Like much of the Fund’s most effective work, this effort began with a group of dedicated people gathered in a small conference room, poring over giant paper maps and powering through with big cups of coffee. The focus was on identifying long-neglected sites that were damaging to their surrounding neighborhoods, and determining which ones offered the greatest potential for impactful industrial redevelopment.
This effort reflects the Fund’s broader commitment to strengthening job hubs and removing barriers to progress. We know that early-stage support is often the hardest to secure. This grant helps fill that gap and provides local partners with the tools to initiate redevelopment efforts that benefit residents and the regional economy.
It also reflects what can happen when people work across boundaries. Summit County, the City of Akron, the City of Cuyahoga Falls, the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation, and the Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition all played an essential role. Each brought a different perspective and set of skills, resulting in a plan that feels both grounded and forward-looking.
On a personal note, I first began to understand the scope and potential of the EPA’s brownfields program through the 2024 Greater Ohio Policy Center’s Brownfields Conference. The Policy Center’s advocacy and educational work in this space continues to be an important resource for practitioners and policymakers alike.
This is just the beginning. Environmental work takes time, and the path from assessment to reuse is rarely quick or easy. But this funding sets that process in motion and provides the region with a stronger foundation for what comes next.
The Fund is proud to have helped lead this effort and remains committed to supporting the work ahead. Summit County moved forward by choosing collaboration, and by doing so, opened the door to real, lasting change.
