The city of Akron has bought the former General Tire complex and turned it into a new industrial park. The $1.75 million purchase of the 29-acre complex received the approval of the Planning Commission.

Plans call for tearing down the former General Tire headquarters and two other buildings on the site, dividing the land into four to six parcels and selling them to small-but-growing manufacturers for industrial redevelopment.

Continental General Tire of Charlotte, NC now owns the site. The company will be responsible for any environmental clean-up that is necessary.

The city is applying for a loan from the Ohio Department of Development that initially would cover most of the purchase price. The loan would be due during that time.

By the time the city would have to start making payments on the loan some of the parcels will be sold and that money would be available to retire the loan.

The site, including the half century-old headquarters, was on the market for several months when the city began to negotiate for its purchase.

While several other older factory buildings in Akron have been recycled this site is ideal for leveling and building anew.

There is a demand for smaller industrial sites. For instance, the city's 35-square-acre Akron Square Industrial sites has only one five-acre site remaining. And the first phase of the city's Ascot Industrial Park is about 90 percent full.

It is believed that the General site would be a "hot location" because it is close to an expressway. It is anticipated to have 600 people working at the site in about five years.

The proposal will move to the City Council for final consideration.

Alton, IL

Over the past 30 years, the City of Alton has undergone a dramatic decline in its industrial economic base. The City is now actively pooling all available resources to arrest and reverse this decline. Economic redevelopment will only be achieved by addressing and remediating the environmental contamination found on properties in the Alton Industrial Corridor.

At least 15 industrial sites, varying in acreage, are situated in the Alton Industrial Corridor. Historically used for heavy industrial purposes, the majority of the area is contaminated in one form or another. Some sites have already been definitely identified. Presently, two sites have had Phase II assessments completed, both revealing environmental issues that have to be addressed. Other sites are suspected and have a high probability of contamination based upon the industrial uses that previously exist at a particular site.

In the broadest sense, the ultimate target of the City of Alton is to identify all environmental and financial barriers present in the industrial corridor, determine what costs are associated with their removal; and to seek to coordinate efforts with both public and private sectors to attract new development, investment, and jobs to Alton. In other words, put Alton's brownfields on an even playing field with the surrounding greenfields, thereby rejuvenating an older urban core.

The initial pilot site proposed to utilize the Alton Industrial Site Remediation Program is the Alton Business Center, formerly the Owens-Illinois Glass Plant. It is a classic brownfield comprised of 144 acres of dilapidated structures and vacant land. Once a thriving glass container manufacturing facility employing thousands of residents within Alton and the surrounding region, glass production ceased in 1983 with mold manufacturing and foundry operations several years thereafter. The plant now sits idle in a contaminated and economically unproductive state. To worsen matters, the negative impacts generated by this