Going From Industrial to Educational in Ohio

Xavier University, of Cincinnati, will redevelop the site of an old chemical plant, transforming it into a residential and commercial complex that will feature student housing, stores and restaurants, office space, a hotel, a fitness center, a student health center, and the university bookstore. There is no estimate of the cost of the project on the news release.

The site is about 20 acres. BASF donated about half of the property — a portion that was a chemical plant that closed in 1990 — to the university. The university purchased the rest, the site of an old packaging plant, from Zumbiel Packaging.

The university will have to tear down a number of buildings on the site. Xavier plans to recycle much of the material. The steel in the buildings, even the rebar in the reinforced concrete, will be sent to a steel recycling facility. The concrete will be ground into aggregate for new concrete.