Further Asbestos Removal Called Form at Old Ohio Plant
On July 1, 2008, Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner said additional asbestos at the decommissioned Toledo Edison Acme power plant in East Toledo’s planned Marina District development would be removed in advance of a partial demolition later this year.
That part of the effort to clean up and incorporate the building into the $320 million residential and commercial development along the Maumee River will cost $2.175 million, the mayor said.
The city has hired Ecological Services, a Toledo firm, to perform the asbestos abatement work; the subcontractor is Homrich Inc. of Carleton, Mich. To pay for the work, the city is using a $3 million Clean Ohio grant, which required a $1 million match.
“The bid came in low with the idea that they are going to get a certain amount of scrap out of there,” said Tim Murphy, the city’s commissioner of environmental services. “That leaves us additional money to do additional work.”
He estimated it would cost up to an additional $4 million to finish remediating the entire building. Mr. Finkbeiner said the west wing of the building and a section referred to, as Boiler 16 would be torn down after asbestos removal this summer.
Asbestos remediation must occur before the section of the building can be torn down, the mayor said, adding that the city is razing portions of the structure “that do not have historical significance.”
The brown brick portions of the building will remain and be incorporated into the commercial and residential development on 125 acres bounded by I-280, Front Street, Main Street, and the Maumee River.
The Marina District land has been cleared of environmental pollution, except for the decommissioned power plant.
The city has built a marina, and the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority completed a $3.1 million marine passenger terminal for Great Lakes passenger ferries and cruise ships at the downriver end of the site.
More than $9.35 million has been spent to clean up the former power plant and the land.