Lakeview Bluffs, nestled on over 1,000 acres along Lake Erie, offers some of the most breathtaking views and outstanding recreational opportunities in Ohio. In its most ambitious redevelopment to date, Hemisphere’s vision is to transform this former industrial manufacturing site into a master planned resort community focusing on the site’s unparalleled natural amenities, including 1.2 miles of Lake Erie shoreline and over 2 miles of scenic river corridor along the Grand River.
Overcoming Obstacles to Redevelopment
Formerly the location of the sprawling Diamond Shamrock Painesville Works, the land has been the site of various activities over the years, including a 500-acre settling pond, a chromium production facility and a landfill. Beginning in 1912, Diamond Shamrock initiated production activities at the site. At its peak, the site employed approximately 3,200 people, producing products such as soda ash, baking soda, coke and other chemicals. In 1976, Diamond Shamrock abruptly shuttered the facility and terminated all employees. The three impacted communities have struggled since then to recover.
The site is so large, it spans three separate municipalities, which historically battled over development issues in the region. In 1980, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated action to remedy chromium contamination at the site, resulting in the construction of a 120-acre clay cap over the impacted area. The Ohio EPA began enforcement activities for the rest of the site in 1989. Parties to the action had been embroiled in litigation ever since. Hemisphere’s development plan was the catalyst to settling both this costly and complex multi-party CERCLA case, as well as a long-standing regulatory enforcement action, in an extraordinarily expedited fashion. Through Hemisphere’s redevelopment, dramatic progress toward comprehensively resolving historical environmental issues has been achieved.
In a public-private partnership with all relevant municipalities, the Ohio EPA, Lake Metroparks and numerous other public stakeholders, Hemisphere created a plan to re-invent this area. A key component of Hemisphere’s strategy is to transform negative public perception focusing on the site’s industrial past toward a more favorable focus on the land’s unparalleled natural attributes and innovative real estate development concept.
