WCPO 9's Sam Harasimowicz covers Clermont County. If you have a story that you'd like Sam to look into or a news tip, contact him at sam@wcpo.com.
NEW RICHMOND, Ohio — In the midst of a stretch of local businesses and an active construction zone, there's another site along the Village of New Richmond's Front Street.
It's a small building with two garage doors.
“It’s just kind of an eyesore," Richard Mahan said.
It's the former New Richmond bus garage. Village Administrator Kathryn Bailey said the site was used by New Richmond Exempted Village Schools for bus maintenance.
Watch to learn more about the plans for an old bus garage in New Richmond:
The site had underground diesel fuel, underground gasoline and used oil tanks. The gasoline and used oil tanks were removed in 1994, while the diesel tanks were removed in 2020, according to Bailey.
When the diesel tanks were removed, environmental testing found contamination from petroleum.
Six years later, Bailey said she represented the village as it worked with the county to obtain grant funding to redevelop the site.
The project has received a $400,000 grant from the State of Ohio.
The Clermont County Land Bank and its environmental consultant will demolish the old bus garage, acquire the site, remove contaminated soil and address groundwater impact before redevelopment can begin.
It will then be transformed into a public parking lot to support the village's Liberty Landing project, set to begin in the fall.
“It’ll look better. I think it’ll be good for the village," Mahan said.
Mahan works as the curator for the New Richmond Military Museum. He discussed the impact more parking will have.
“I think it’s great because you park and you’re willing to walk around," Mahan said.
Joby Houck owns multiple buildings across the village and said the ongoing construction and layout changes have taken a huge chunk of parking away.
“It’s really put a strain on a lot of the private parking lot owners, so this is definitely going to be a shot in the arm for what we really need," Houck said.
Have a story idea or tip for WCPO 9 Clermont County reporter Sam Harasimowicz? Email him at sam@wcpo.com.
