ASHLAND — The city on Tuesday entered into a revised agreement with a developer who plans to bring life to the Pump House District in downtown Ashland.
The unanimous decision signals an imminent start to a project that has been years in the making.
Council first passed a purchase agreement with the Columbus developer in July 2022.
Nevertheless, Ashland Mayor Matt Miller said Ashland Urban LLC hopes to start construction within four weeks.
“Every timeframe I’ve ever given on anything has never panned out the way I was told,” Miller said. “But we’ll hope this one sticks.”
When done, the Pump House District will include 192 apartment units, a park and other mixed commercial spaces.
Why the delay?
Miller said the delay was because of environmental studies and other work that needed to be done on the roughly six acres planned for development along East 4th Street between Union Street and Orange Road.
One of the environmental challenges faced by the city was the discovery of contaminated soil after the removal of a 1,000-gallon steel tank. The underground tank used to store gasoline atop a former gas station.
The tank was removed in November 2023 for $24,950. But officials found “evidence of soil contamination,” which led to further testing. Council passed legislation in November allowing the spending of up to $150,000 at the site.
On Tuesday, Miller said the city has spent around $450,000 of an $886,000 Brownfield Remediation grant received last fall. He said the money was spent on the removal of underground tanks, soil borings and other environmental-related expenses.
The city is also working with crews to remove a rail crossing and spurs that used to service old Myers factories. Ashland received a grant totaling $804,735 for that work in January 2024.
Miller said crews were supposed to start that work on March 17; they did not. But he said Tuesday the work has started on a nearby site to prepare for the work on the Pump House site.
Other work on the site involves removing and burying power lines in the area, and installing infrastructure needed to power the former Pump House office building, which is slated to become a hotel. The city spent just over $219,000 of its allocation of American Rescue Plan Act dollars for that.
Speaking of the Pump House office building, the developer (Pump House Hospitality LLC) behind that project, awaits Vision Development, Miller said.
Pump House Hotel Project Details
The $21.5 million project, bankrolled by Home 2 Suites by Hilton, calls for renovating the Pump House office building that has sat vacant for years. It includes an addition totaling 68,078 square-feet, and 94 “suite-style” rooms, according to the city’s ordinance outlining the deal.
“While Vision is waiting for all these contingencies to be met in order to move forward, the hotel is waiting for them to move forward … so all the pieces and parts are coming together,” Miller said.
Contingencies
The revised purchase agreement, which council unanimously passed Tuesday, states the deal is contingent upon a number of items.
Some of those include the city’s confirmation of its receipt of a “No Further Action” (NFA) letter from state agencies. Essentially, the document states no additional environmental work needs to be done in the area.
The city received the NFA, Miller said, on Feb. 4.
Another contingency stated the remainder of the Brownfield Remediation grant, around $400,000, will be “assigned” to the buyer — Vision Development LLC. Miller said the money will be used to install vapor barriers in the planned park area.
It also states the removal of the rail spurs, above-ground utility poles and lines must be completed.
The deal also states that the one-acre park, once completed, will be dedicated and transferred to the city for a cost of $1.