Nick McWilliams reporting – The city of New Philadelphia is working towards raising the property that formerly housed the Puritan Car Wash.
The property, located at the corner of Bank Lane and Mill Avenue, recently came under city ownership after the structure was purchased and the land was donated by the owner.
The city is hoping to utilize Brownfield Cleanup Grants to tear down the building and prepare the site for future development.
Service Director Ron McAbier says that there is the chance the work could be done entirely through government funding.
“The key thing is, on the first round of funding, it’s 100 percent paid for. The second round of funding is 75 percent. The quotes that we’ve had are right around $125,000. To tear everything down, and put it where it’s just grass. A green space. And go from there.”
The issue, according to McAbier, is whether or not the city can capitalize on the first round of funding and $300,000 worth of funding still available to the county.
If no one else applies, the grant proposals are handled on a first-come, first-serve basis. If they are not selected, they will utilize the second round of funding, which would put them in the books for just under $32,000 for the work.
Zoning and Building Codes Administrator Josh Mathias is handling the application process, with McAbier noting that he’s attempting to still capture the intial funding round.
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