Ohio's $120 Million Brownfield Fund Opens for Columbus Applications

The Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program opened a new $120 million application round today, August 11, for cleanup of contaminated industrial, commercial, and institutional properties, with applications accepted through September 11 at development.ohio.gov. Columbus-area applicants have won nearly $30 million from the program's prior rounds.

What the Program Covers

The Ohio Department of Development's Brownfield Remediation Program funds two types of work: assessment (identifying what contamination is present and estimating cleanup costs) and remediation (the actual cleanup, asbestos abatement, lead removal, demolition of hazardous structures, or some combination).

Eligible sites are industrial, commercial, or institutional properties where a known or potential release of hazardous substances or petroleum has left the property idle or underused. The program does not fund residential sites or cleanups already required under a court order or regulatory consent agreement.

One detail worth noting for private-sector readers: grants can cover the full cost of eligible project work. There is no required local match. For public-sector applicants working with tight capital budgets — land banks, townships, smaller municipalities — the no-match structure is a significant threshold to clear.

Who Can Apply in Columbus

Eligible applicants include counties, townships, municipal corporations, port authorities, district parks, county land reutilization corporations, and for-profit organizations. Private developers whose sites qualify can apply directly without routing through a public entity, per the program's eligibility terms as published in state legislative summaries and Ohio House press releases.

In Franklin County, COCIC — the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corp. — serves as the county's lead entity coordinating brownfield grant applications. COCIC typically holds discovery meetings with potential sub-applicants before each round, helping Franklin County's submissions avoid overlap and cover more ground. Columbus-area applicants should check cocic.org/grants or contact COCIC to confirm whether Franklin County has reserved capacity in this round.

What Columbus Has Won Before

Franklin County has built a consistent track record under this program.

In one earlier round, the Franklin County Land Bank received $3.75 million to remediate and demolish blighted structures across three sites: Eastland Mall, Gahanna's Creekside District, and a parcel in Weinland Park, according to a COCIC grant announcement.

In another round, Woda Cooper Companies received $1 million for the Lofts at 40 Long project — asbestos abatement, lead-based paint mitigation, and selective demolition inside the former downtown Columbus YMCA building at 40 Long Street, also per COCIC. The former YMCA building had sat vacant, and the grant made it possible to prepare the historic structure for residential reuse, part of a broader wave of downtown Columbus reuse projects.

In 2024, COCIC submitted six Franklin County applications, and all six were funded for a total of nearly $29 million, according to Zimmer Development Co.

The Statewide Picture

Since the program launched in 2021, it has awarded nearly $800 million to support 904 projects across 87 of Ohio's 88 counties, according to Ohio House press releases summarizing the program's track record.

Governor Mike DeWine announced the new round on August 6.

Why This Round Matters for Columbus Operators

Columbus is a city with a long industrial history, and the legacy of that history shows up in the form of contaminated or blighted sites spread across older commercial corridors and neighborhoods. Brownfield grants address a specific and often decisive problem: who absorbs the cost and risk of what may be underground before a site changes hands.

A remediated site is a different asset than an unremediated one. Once the contamination risk has been documented, quantified, and paid for by a grant, the site can be bid out competitively, financed conventionally, or transferred to a developer who would not have touched it before. That's the reason the COCIC-funded Eastland Mall, Gahanna Creekside, and Weinland Park cleanups from prior rounds matter beyond the individual parcels: each one creates a cleared, lender-ready site that the private market can now absorb.

For Columbus operators working near older commercial corridors in Franklinton, the Near East Side, Linden, or the South Side, this application window is worth tracking. A site you've been holding because of contamination uncertainty may be exactly what this program is designed to address.

How to Apply

Applications are submitted online. Navigate to development.ohio.gov → For Community → Redevelopment → Brownfield Remediation Program. The application requires site documentation, a project description, a budget, and confirmation of applicant eligibility. Assessment grants and remediation grants have separate tracks and different supporting documentation requirements.

For Franklin County coordination, contact COCIC at cocic.org/grants.

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Sources: Governor's Office · Ohio House of Representatives · WCSM Radio · COCIC · Zimmer Development Co. · Business Journal Daily