Nudging the Immovable Object: Huntington Has Momentum on Brownfield Sites

HUNTINGTON – They may be viewed by some as baby steps.

But to slay a dragon the size of the four brownfield sites that take up 78 acres in the middle of Huntington, you have to take your time in making a pretty good lance.

The city received perhaps the best news it has heard in 20 years regarding the property when the Environmental Protection Agency announced March 9 it was awarding a $200,000 grant so Huntington could make a plan on how it would repurpose the wasteland that sits between the eastern end of Marshall University’s campus and the west end of the Highlawn neighborhood.

The contiguous block that stretches from 5th Avenue to the Ohio River is comprised of former rail car manufacturer ACF, Flint Pigments, a former coal dock operated by Ohio River Terminals and the shuttered McGinnis factory.

Huntington was one of 20 cities to receive such a grant from the EPA, and the Huntington Municipal Development Authority is also pursuing a $400,000 grant that would go toward environmental cleanup.

The early March announcement was paired with an announcement from Rubberlite Inc., a company that employs 170 in Huntington and makes foam and rubber products for everything from footwear to the aerospace industry, would be revving up an expansion of its operations in a temporary site with an eventual plan to move onto the brownfield block.

Mayor Steve Williams has said he envisions the area as a place that would accommodate light industry and manufacturing, recreation, including a baseball park to be shared by Marshall University and a minor league team, hotels, retail and housing.

The grant is a bundle that attempts to link cities that come up with good plans with more funding to actually make those plans happen, EPA officials said.

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