ADDYSTON, OH – A Cincinnati real estate firm specializing in contaminated property will buy the village of Addyston's now-closed giant chemical maker.
Addyston Mayor Lisa Mear told The Enquirer CERTA Environmental will purchase the 120-acre Ineos Styrolution facility, located on U.S. Route 50 about 13 miles west of downtown Cincinnati.
"Finally some good news," she said. "I feel like the cards went our way."
Purchase should happen before year's end
CERTA should complete the purchase by the end of the year, Mear told members of the Addyston Village Council during a September public meeting. The village hopes the site will then be turned over to a new user that will generate new payroll and property tax dollars.
"I don't
know about you guys (but) that doesn't sound like a bad thing," she said then.
Village Clerk Margaret Dozier referenced the coming sale during council's Oct. 5 meeting after resident Ed Cain voiced concerns about village budget woes.
"We're down to skin and bones again," Cain said.
Dozier agreed, saying village officials hope "things will turn up the first of the year" with the sale "across the street."
Mear confirmed the deal in an interview after the Oct. 5 meeting, calling it "fantastic news." She told council she had just met with CERTA to discuss the purchase.
Ineos continues 'decommissioning' of plant
The price, timeline and other details about the transaction were not immediately available.
CERTA managing member Jake Bamberger did not respond to a call, text and email asking for more information.
At Ineos, Acting General Manager Andrew Montague and the media office of the London-based conglomerate did not respond to email requests for comment.
At the end of September, Ineos media told The Enquirer that the plant stopped producing its primary product line in 2025 and another chemical product in 2026. Mear said all production ended in April.
"We are focused on the safe and responsible decommissioning of the site," the company media statement said. "Personnel currently on site are supporting ongoing decommissioning activities and 24/7 security operations."
Buyer specializes in 'distressed' properties
CERTA – an acronym for Capital Environmental Risk Transfer Alliance – was created in 2016, according to its filing with the Ohio Secretary of State.
It mostly buys property with environmental issues, according to its website.
"CERTA offers a win-win-win scenario for contaminated properties," the site said. "The company is able to transfer a distressed asset, the community will gain economic development to generate jobs and taxes, and CERTA will see a return on our investment."
Among the remediation projects listed on its website are:
- Dayton Daily News' office and plant on 57 acres in Franklin in 2018.
- A General Motors plant on 82 acres in Vandalia in 2017.
- Rohm & Haas Chemical on 32 acres in Reading in 2016.
- The former home of The Enquirer, at 617 Vine St., in 2012, a Hilton-affiliated hotel since 2015.
Bamberger is a veteran of the booking binding industry, according to his LinkedIn page. He is the son of former Enquirer pressman Al Bamberger, who briefly owned the Enquirer's former printing plant in Queensgate.
CERTA was one of 15 prospective buyers that walked through Ineos site, according to Mayor Mear.
Ineos' exit brings 74 years of chemical-making to an end
Ineos, a maker of chemicals for plastics, bought the Addyston plant in transactions in 2017 and 2018 for $7.7 million, according to the Hamilton County Auditor site.
The company announced plans to end operations in October 2024, just a month after styrene headed there leaked and caused a short-term evacuation in Addyston.
The shutdown brought 74 years of chemical manufacturing in Addyston, under four different owners, to an end.
The village, with about 900 residents, anticipated losing $400,000 of its $1.8 million in annual revenue with Ineos' exit, minutes from a March 9 Finance Committee said. Officials also considered annexation into Cincinnati or another jurisdiction.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Giant now-closed riverfront chemical plant has a buyer, mayor says
