Athens City Council met in committees on Monday to discuss the future of The Ridges.
Council President Chris Knisley said Buckeye Hills Foundation and Community Building Partners, or CBP, were able to obtain a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to further a plan to stabilize the buildings and plan potential new buildings.
CEO of CBP Joseph Recchie said the group has evaluated the buildings and the site to determine the possible steps to upgrade the Kirkbride campus and opportunities for select commercial development and home-ownership.
“We’re leaning hard into owner-users, businesses who would own buildings, renovate those buildings compliant with the National Park Service standards, obtain the tax benefits associated with that and operate their businesses as owners and occupants at the Ridges,” Recchie said.
The cost of infrastructure, estimated by CBP, is projected to be about $7.1 million. CBP will not be asking for money from the city, the county or Ohio University, Recchie said.
Recchie said before the group comes to the Council with a petition for a new community authority, which is a body that would oversee the project, they would need approval from the OU Board of Trustees.
