Ohio Awards $1.05 Million to Clean Up Adams County Brownfields
Governor Mike DeWine announced state grants that will send $1,049,792 to Adams County to demolish and remediate 24 polluted and vacant sites, advancing public safety and redevelopment. The funding targets known contamination in Manchester and supports broader efforts across the Greater Cincinnati region that matter to residents for health, jobs, and local revitalization.
On November 13, 2025 Governor Mike DeWine announced a package of state funding to address contaminated, abandoned and hazardous sites across the Greater Cincinnati region and the state. Adams County was allocated $1,049,792 to demolish and revitalize 24 different sites within the county, part of a larger set of awards that exceed $24 million for the Cincinnati area and top $52 million statewide.
The Adams County awards include targeted work at two Manchester properties that have long drawn local attention. The former Manchester Pants Factory is slated for asbestos abatement, demolition and removal of contaminated soils. The former Manchester Bi Lo site will receive excavation and disposal of petroleum contaminated soil as well as groundwater treatment. Those specific project descriptions were included in the state release summarizing the program awards.
Funds for the Adams County projects come through the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program and the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program. Both programs are designed to reduce environmental hazards, prepare parcels for redevelopment and lower barriers for future investment. The announcement follows routine state efforts to pair environmental cleanup with economic revitalization in post industrial and rural communities.
For Adams County residents the immediate benefits are practical and local. Removing asbestos and petroleum contamination reduces risks to public health and to workers who handle the cleanups. Demolition of unsafe structures reduces blight and liability in neighborhoods. Clearing and treating contaminated soils and groundwater will make sites more attractive to potential buyers or developers, which can in time improve the tax base and create short term construction jobs and longer term business opportunities.
The awards also fit broader regional patterns. Other Cincinnati area counties received site specific awards under the same programs, reflecting a coordinated effort to tackle legacy pollution across municipal boundaries and to align environmental remediation with local planning goals. The Ohio programs are among state mechanisms used to convert former industrial parcels into usable land for housing, small business, parks or mixed uses.
Local officials and community groups will be watching implementation, since the pace of remediation and the nature of subsequent redevelopment will shape outcomes for years. The state release accompanying the announcement provided the project descriptions for the two Manchester sites and listed the other local awards. As cleanup work proceeds, Adams County will be among the communities seeking to turn environmental liability into an asset for residents, business owners and the region.
