ASHLAND — Ashland city council on Tuesday purchased a property that will lead to possible expansion to the city’s industrial park and the other will provide a way for the development of the so-called Pump House District in Downtown Ashland.
The largest purchase went to acquiring 33 acres of property at the intersection of Wells Road and Ford Drive for $625,000. The land acquisition allows for expansion of the city’s industrial park, said Mayor Matt Miller.
“Over the last several years, we’ve been very … interested in this particular parcel because we know, one day, we’re going to run out of land in our industrial park, which is a good problem,” Miller said.
The mayor described the vacant land as “prime” real estate and an option for developers in the industrial sector.
“Believe it or not, often when companies do come, they ask about that particular parcel. However, the city does not own it,” he said, adding the city’s utilities are nearby because of its proximity to city-owned land where the existing industrial park lies.
After the unanimous vote to buy the land, city officials said the plan would be to lease it out to a local farmer until it is developed.
City council bought another piece of property on Tuesday, this time near the so-called Pump House District. The $85,000 property currently serves as a parking lot for customers at the Ashland County Job and Family Services located at the intersection of Orange and Fourth streets.
Miller said the city must first acquire several properties in that immediate area in order to combine them into one parcel and sell it to a developer who wants to create the Pump House District, which officials have said will include apartments and an “urban meadow.”
The urban meadow, a project covered by $150,000 in state grants, has been described as having ultra-modern art, concrete walking pads, outdoor musical instruments and a sun dial.
The parking lot the city bought will be moved behind the former Pump House Ministries building, which is owned by the county.
“This is one (project) where all the pieces have to fall in place in order for a good thing to happen,” Miller said.
The Ashland County Board of Commissioners President Jim Justice attended Tuesday’s meeting. From the audience, he said he approves of the project.
“I think it’s a great project. That’s why we got behind it,” Justice said.
