The site that was dominated for years by an abandoned dairy is being eyed by the city of Toledo for a land deal that will bring a new housing development to the London Square community in central Toledo.
Calling it the most “exciting project the department of neighborhoods has put together,” Director of Housing and Community Development Rosalyn Clemens has asked Toledo City Council to approve a $350,000 purchase agreement with Miller Valentine Holding LLC (MVAH) to develop approximately three acres of property located at 1157 Grand Ave., better known as the former Driggs Dairy.
Council will vote Tuesday on the purchase proposal as well as a related request that calls for the approval of $150,000 in funds to conduct environmental remediation at the site.
“It is the first of what we hope to be many more redevelopment projects in our inner core,” Ms. Clemens said at the Dec. 14 agenda review meeting. “This developer wants to do a beautiful building on that site that has not seen development in 40 years.”
The $150,000 would pay to hire an environmental consulting firm to prepare environmental reports for the remedial activities in order to remain in compliance with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Voluntary Action Program. That step will release the city from further state action by the Ohio EPA.
The new project calls for a 70-unit affordable housing complex with a fitness area, retail space, and a community meeting room. Pathways, a community action agency, will also have an office in the building to provide community services such as financial literacy and GED services.
The purchase offer of the building is $60,000 above the appraised value and proceeds from the sale will support the Community Development Block Grant program to support other work taking place at the site, Ms. Clemens said.
“I call it priming the pump,” she said. “When you talk about neighborhood revitalization and redevelopment, this is the proactive work that we want to do.”
According to Ms. Clemens, a recent housing report shows that for incomes at or below 50 percent of the area median income households in Toledo, there is a deficit of 12,000 housing units for residents in need of affordable housing.
“So any opportunity we have for reducing that deficit, we’re going to move forward to doing it with city assets,” she said.
In April the city announced that CDBG money would be used to demolish what was left of the dairy processing plant, which had fallen into blight and disrepair.
Thomas Armstrong, a resident of the Englewood neighborhood, remembers riding his bike near the working plant when he was a child. Now as a homeowner who has watched the building deteriorate, he is happy about the proposal.
“I’m definitely in favor of it and everyone I have talked to is in favor of it. We need some type of investment that’s going to improve the neighborhood,” said Mr. Armstrong. “Having a multi-million investment will definitely help our property values, no doubt.”
Following council’s approval of the project, the developer would need to secure financing to begin construction.
The proposed Grand Avenue project would not be the first project that Miller Valentine has developed in Toledo, said Ms. Clemens, who noted that in a few months, the developer will open Secor Senior Lofts, a newly constructed senior housing development located near Secor and Monroe.
First Published December 20, 2021, 9:53 p.m.
