The state’s objective is the development of an Ohio-run behavioral health hospital.
The money was approved by a unanimous vote of the Ohio Controlling Board, which vets specific appropriation requests for set-aside state funding.
The approval freed $2.5 million in cash to be paid to the site’s previous owner, Tax Redevelopment, LLC, which agreed to a buying option for $3.3 million, with the remaining $800,000 being a donation to the state, according to the appropriation request.
Nathan Edwards, a spokesman for Harrison Twp., said Friday the 500 expected new jobs at the site, with an expected annual payroll of some $126 million, will lead to further new development and more rooftops in the area.
“It’s a big deal,” he said.
Crews are already on site, and Edwards expects a sign indicating the change in ownership to be raised at any time.
“We have seen it from the township’s perspective as a really good investment in the Hara site,” Edwards said. “It is going to take an entity with large pocketbooks to be able to come in there and redevelop that entire property. I mean, it’s huge.”
Edwards said he expects opportunities for citizens to continue to weigh in on the future of parts of the property. State officials are working on a session for “community feedback” in early February, he said.
A public park on part of the property is a possibility, he said.
The timeline for completion of a new 270,000-square-foot building is aiming for a ribbon-cutting in the year 2030, Edwards said.
Messages were left for representatives of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the former owner of the property, Michael Heitz, a Lexington, Ky.-based developer.
A spokesman for the Montgomery County auditor’s office said transfer paperwork had not yet been filed, as of early Friday afternoon.
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