Ex-Lancaster Glass site development may take 5 years

LANCASTER -- Demolition of the former Lancaster Glass site's foundation likely will begin in October, but development of the lot could take up to five years, its developer said.

The Clean Ohio Council earlier this month awarded Columbus-based Wagenbrenner Development and the city of Lancaster a $2.5 million grant to clean the site, which still has traces of soil and groundwater contaminants from its former factories.

The total cost for clean-up of the 2.6 acre site is estimated at $3.4 million, including water and sewer capacity and tap fee credits provided by the city and assessment costs covered by Lancaster Glass.

If foundation demolition begins as scheduled in October, Wagenbrenner plans to complete construction of new buildings by September 2016, according to its state grant application.

A bulk of that time will be spent cleaning contaminants in the soil and groundwater beneath the site. Environmental clean-up would begin Jan. 1 and finish in September 2014. Construction could begin in July 2014 and be completed by September 2016, according to the application.

But that timetable is conservative, said Eric Wagenbrenner, vice president of Wagenbrenner Development.

"It's not an exact science," he said. "That could speed up. Sometimes it could take that whole period of time. We always want to be flexible."

The former glass factory at the corner of Main Street and Memorial Drive has sat empty since 2008, when Lancaster Glass Corp. demolished its former plant. The company donated the property to an affiliate of Wagenbrenner Development, which has received six similar state grants to clean and develop central Ohio brownfields.

Its other projects have included a regional headquarters for Time Warner Cable and an oncology center for Ohio State University in Columbus, Wagenbrenner said.

"As a whole, we've dealt with a lot worse sites," he said.

The company plans to remove contaminated soil and filter contaminants from groundwater, Wagenbrenner said.

An assessment of the property found elevated levels of metals, such as arsenic, antimony and selenium, in soil and groundwater on part of the property. Groundwater on the northwest part of property was contaminated by tetrachloroethene, a chemical used in dry cleaning, according to the application.

The city's Miller Park well field is hundreds of yards from the site, according to the application, but Wagenbrenner said testing has shown that the contaminants have not leaked into the water supply.

Lancaster Economic Development Director Mike Pettit did not return calls for comment.

The plan for the site calls for two buildings: a 32,985-square-foot, two-story residential and retail building that fronts Memorial Drive and a 9,800-square-foot retail building along Memorial Drive. The total cost of the two buildings would be about $3.8 million on top of clean-up costs, according to the application.

Those plans are subject to change based on the tenants the company can identify during the next five years, Wagenbrenner said.

"For us there's got to be potential redevelopment at the end of the day and potential for the property," he said. "We saw a lot of benefit there with the amount of acreage that's there and that fact that it's set up on Memorial and the entrance to downtown."

Wagenbrenner said his company would talk to banks, government officials and retail brokers to find tenants. The company also plans to construct buildings that fit in with "character of what's there on Main Street," it said.

Research by Main Street Lancaster has shown demand for more downtown night life, such as restaurants and art galleries, said David Uhl, executive director of the organization.

Developing the former Lancaster Glass property could set off a series of developments downtown and help draw more people to the heart of the city, he said.

Several business owners have halted plans as they wait to see what will happen at the site and other vacant downtown properties, such as the Mithoff Hotel, Uhl said. "This is the entrance to our downtown," Uhl said. "Having an unattractive, barren space there is not the image we want to portray of Lancaster."

Wagenbrenner said his company would pursue both local and regional restaurants as tenants. The company also will have meetings for public input closer to the completion of the project.

"If we can get someone who is more local or regional, not necessarily a chain, we see them as being more successful in these environments because they have a pulse for what local people want and need," he said.