The land that housed the former Roth Steel scrap yard Syracuse, New York, was targeted for purchase by two scrap companies but instead appears to be headed for repurposing by a regional economic development agency.
An Oct. 13, 2015, online report by Syracuse.com says Canadian scrap dealer Herbert Black, chairman of Montreal-based American Iron & Metal (AIM), has agreed to sell the land to the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency.
According to the report, that agency's directors have voted 4-0 to pay AIM more than $785,000 for the 23-acre site near Lake Onondaga. The agency had previously hinted it would pursue eminent domain methods to acquire the land.
The former Roth Steel closed and filed for bankruptcy 2014. Interest in the land and remaining assets on the property initially was expressed by Adam Weitsman and Upstate Shredding, followed later by AIM actually making the purchase in early 2015 for slightly more than $685,000.
An elected official contacted by Syracuse.com says the county “is interested in using part of the property to extend its pedestrian trail around the lake. For the remaining portion of the land, the agency could issue a request for proposals from private developers for commercial redevelopment.”
New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program will be explored as a way to deal with “high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls, a chemical compound once used as an insulating material in electrical transformers” reportedly found on the site.