Canton City Council authorizes sale of former Ford property

Kelly Byer, The Repository
·3 min read
1
Canton City Hall
Canton City Hall

CANTON − Developers are interested in the former Ford property south of Georgetown Road NE ― again.

City Council on Monday agreed to transfer five parcels totaling about 96 acres to the Canton Community Improvement Corporation, the city's economic development arm. The CCIC will sell the land for $10,000 to A & J Urban Development, which is operated by local businessmen Steve Coon and Todd Pugh.

"It has been a subject of development for over a decade," said Economic Development Director Christopher Hardesty.

Coon and Pugh intend to turn the site into an industrial and commercial park. Hardesty said they're expected to invest an initial $500,000 toward that goal and make the buildable land marketable within two years.

Only about two-thirds of the land can be developed because of wetlands and granite, he said. There are environmental restrictions on the property, and a 2011 study by Hammontree Engineering estimated the development of 47 acres to cost $3.34 million.

The property will revert to the city if it's not developed within the time frame, and Hardesty said he expects the transfer to occur within the next couple of weeks.

Read more: What's next for the former Ford property in Canton?

Ford Motor Co.'s Canton property

The Ford Motor Co. closed the plant in the late 1980s and donated the land southeast of Marietta Avenue NE and Georgetown Road NE to the city in 2004.

It was first transferred to the CCIC in 2010, and a partial road extending south from Georgetown Road was completed in 2018 with a $500,000 Ohio Department of Development grant.

Previous developers have expressed interest in the property but nothing has come to fruition. Hardesty said the greatest challenge is the wooded land that is not "shovel-ready."

"As it sits right now, there are trees. It is unattractive," he said. "If you try to sell it to a business, they're not interested."

Council vote

Councilmen Frank Morris, D-9, and Louis Giavasis, D-at large, cast the only votes against the property transfer. Councilman Peter Ferguson, D-8, was absent and the other nine council members voted in favor.

"This does not make any sense to me fiscally," Morris said before the vote.

He contended that Issue 13 funds designated for economic development could be used to develop the site, and the city could maintain ownership. Morris said the sale amount was too little for that amount of property.

Giavasis said after the meeting that he agreed with Morris' assessment. It's a "big investment" to give away for $10,000, he added.

Other action

  • City Council amended its health code to prohibit smoking in city-owned vehicles and within 30 feet of a public entrance to a city building. It also added vaping to the definition of smoking. Assistant Law Director Craig Chessler said it "redefines what smoking means" and modernizes the city code.

  • Council also agreed to transfer city-owned property at 1839 Kimball Road SE, which is vacant, to the Canton Community Improvement Corporation. According to a memo from Economic Development Director Christopher Hardesty, the CCIC will convey the property to the adjacent property owner ― Selenium Properties LLC ― for use as a gravel, commercial storage lot.

Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.comOn Twitter: @kbyerREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton City Council authorizes sale of former Ford property