A public meeting will be held tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. at Madisonville Recreation Center, , to discuss a proposed $3 million Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF) application for remediation work at the former NuTone site at .

The City could submit a CORF application to the Ohio Department of Development on behalf of RBM Development Company, LLC to demolish up the nine remaining buildings and to clean up soil and groundwater contamination on the 29.1-acre site.

Although a site development plan will not be finalized until financing is in place, the development is expected eventually to include 430,000 square feet of mixed-use development, 50,000 square feet of retail, between eight and ten residential townhomes, and surface parking.


Known contaminants from manufacturing

Prior to 1949, the property included several houses on nearly 30 acres of mostly undeveloped land.

That year, NuTone purchased the property and began to build its corporate headquarters, where it built products such as door chimes, range hoods, bath fans, attic ventilators, intercom systems, central vacuums, and ceiling fans.

The company eventually grew to include 2,500 employees in seven states, but, in August 2007, NuTone closed the Madisonville plant, eliminating 414 jobs and shifting manufacturing to its other plants.

A Phase II property assessment has shown significant impacts to the site's soil and groundwater, including high concentrations of trichloroethene, vinyl chloride, toluene, and xylene.

As these are known carcinogens that remain in soil and groundwater over long periods of time, future tenants could be at risk.

The site also sits within 2,000 feet of Duck Creek, is located above the sole source Great Miami Aquifer, and is in close proximity to residences, churches, and schools.

Cleanup would return the site to commercial standards and would be free of the need for environmental controls or monitoring.


End user identified

The 2008 GO Cincinnati report identified life sciences as the sector with the most growth potential of any Cincinnati industry.

Medpace Inc., a drug development firm headquartered in Norwood, has been identified as the end user of at least 132,000 square feet of Class A office space within the development.

The company would move approximately 535 employees to the new headquarters between 2010 and 2013, and could add at least 800 more employees by 2014.

Medpace would be required to occupy the facility for at least 16 years.

CORF funding is scheduled to be awarded in November, and, if selected, work at the NuTone site would begin immediately.

"NuTone" ceiling fan photo by courtesy of Flickr through Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Previous reading on BC:
Madisonville: NuTone redevelopment (5/29/07)