As recognized industry leaders in brownfields redevelopment, Hemisphere Development LLC and Hull & Associates, Inc. have assisted with the redevelopment of hundreds of former abandoned and underutilized industrial properties around the country. This combined experience and expertise recently led Hemisphere and Hull to join forces on a collaborative project to relocate their respective Cleveland-area offices to a new home on a former brownfield site.

Working with nationally-recognized brownfield developers Todd Davis and Robert Amjad at Hemisphere, Hull’s team of redevelopment experts helped develop and implement the cleanup strategy for the new Tinkers Creek Commerce Park, located on Hemisphere Way in Bedford, Ohio.

“We saw an opportunity to apply our vision and expertise to an abandoned industrial site that had the potential to breathe new economic vitality into the Bedford community,” said Davis, Hemisphere’s CEO. “The more we studied the options for the redevelopment, we realized this project was what we were looking for in our own expansion needs. It turned out to be a tremendous collaborative effort with Hull and the City of Bedford, Cuyahoga County, the Ohio Department of Development and Ohio EPA.”

Prior to redevelopment, the 50-acre site was home to the former S.K. Wellman facility, which manufactured friction parts for truck clutches and brakes from 1952 to 1986. The overall development area included the eastern portions of the former manufacturing building, a captive landfill area, and an unnamed tributary of Tinkers Creek. Until construction started on the new development in 2008, the former industrial site had remained vacant since 1986, despite offers from the owner to donate the property to the community.

Based on the historic use of the property, the cleanup included the treatment and removal of PAHs, VOCs, metals, cyanide and PCBs in the groundwater and soil. Additional contaminated sediments were removed from a downstream portion of the unnamed tributary of Tinkers Creek. As part of the risk assessment for the project, soils containing concentrations of VOCs that would have contributed to unacceptable indoor air risks were identified and addressed. Using the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Voluntary Action Program, the site was cleaned up to meet commercial and industrial land use standards, and received a No Further Action letter for the property in January 2008.

“We have worked with numerous clients around the country to redevelop brownfields and create new economic investment opportunities for communities,” said Hull CEO Craig A. Kasper. “We’ve been looking for several years to invest in our own opportunity to relocate an office to a former brownfield property, and the timing and location of this development was the right fit for Hull.”

‘Demonstration of commitment’
Today, the property is home to a 19,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art office development fully leased to Hemisphere and Hull. The new building is the home for 31 employees new to the property. The former brownfield is also the home to Taylor Chair, Ohio’s oldest family-owned manufacturing company, which built a new 90,000 square foot headquarters and manufacturing facility at the Tinkers Creek Commerce Park site.

“This is a great location for Hull, and we’re extremely pleased with the final results of the redevelopment,” said Kasper. “Relocating our office to a former industrial property is a demonstration of our commitment to being an industry leader in brownfield redevelopment, and we are proud of the work our employees and development partners put into making this project a reality for Hull.”

Kara A. Allison, APR, is director of government and community relations for Hull & Associates, Inc.