The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has partnered with local communities to determine the best reuse of land, assets, and facilities, and the Mound-site community is no exception. In May, DOE’s Office of Legacy Management (LM) and the Mound Development Corporation (MDC) co-hosted a reindustrialization workshop at the Mound site in Miamisburg, Ohio. In line with DOE’s Asset Revitalization Initiative, this workshop highlighted the beneficial reuse of the agency’s unique and diverse mix of assets, which include not just land, but also facilities, infrastructure, equipment, technologies, natural resources, and a highly skilled workforce.
Seth Kirshenberg of Energy Communities Alliance suggested that the Mound site was a valid model for DOE land reuse, while presenting at the reindustrialization workshop. |
Carl F. Adrian, President/CEO of Tri-City Development Council and Colleen French, DOE Richland Operations Office Government Programs Manager, presented a case study of the Hanford site at the reindustrialization workshop, emphasizing the importance of working closely with stakeholders. |
The workshop highlighted DOE’s collaboration with community reuse organizations—like MDC and the Hanford Tri-City Development Council in Washington State—to redevelop their respective sites. It also touched on MDC’s future marketing strategy for rebranding the Mound site. Joining the co-hosts, were personnel from DOE Headquarters and the agency’s Offices of Management and Environmental Management. The City of Miamisburg, Montgomery County, Mound site tenants, and national and local stakeholder groups were also represented at the workshop.
Participants explored the challenges of reindustrializing former DOE sites, through presentations and discussions. Topics included government property transfer rules, revitalization and reuse initiatives, property divisions that allow multiple potential reuses, establishment of different cleanup levels based on end-use scenarios, lessons learned from Mound reindustrialization efforts, and other sites’ redevelopment efforts. Special emphasis was placed on the importance of local government and community involvement in a site’s decision-making process.
Tours on day two of the workshop gave attendees a mobile glimpse of available Mound Business Park buildings and property, and the chance to walk through an underground building that is one of the most challenging assets for MDC to market. Participants also toured the Mound Science & Energy Museum located on the LM property, and watched presentations by museum volunteers (former site employees) on the historical research and manufacturing achievements that occurred during the site’s 50-yearproduction mission.
MDC unveiled its new site name at the reindustrialization workshop. MDC will now be marketing the former DOE site as the Mound Business Park, which presents a more inclusive redevelopment effort that welcomes a larger variety of businesses. |