The abandoned National Acme plant on East 131st Street at Coit Road is being consumed by Mother Nature. Demolition crews will soon help by tearing down the once productive factory so that the site, abused by its last user, can be put to other uses again in the near future (Google). CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

National Acme plant to be demolished and cleaned

The factory’s name recalls the classic Road Runner cartoons, but few laugh at the ongoing health and economic toll that the long-closed National Acme plant, 170 E. 131st St., poses to residents of Cleveland’s East Glenville and Collinwood. Once one of Cleveland’s largest employers of workers, its fate is similar to that of other aging industrial plants across the city.

Now it’s offering new opportunities to surrounding neighborhoods thanks to the $11.1 million raised in recent days to demolish the rest of the factory, clean up the 13.4-acre site and return it to productive use. The site could attract a new industrial user that could create hundreds of new, permanent jobs, according to the Cuyahoga Land Bank, which acquired the tax-foreclosed property by sheriff’s deed earlier this year.

After this transfer, things went uphill for the site. Things got even better when the Landbank won a $7.6 million grant for site remediation through the Ohio Brownfield Program. It was one of many such grants the land bank received last week. And this week, things got even better when the City of Cleveland provided $3.5 million through the new Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund (SRF). The Cuyahoga Land Bank is the financial agent for the SRF.

“Cleaning up this site is a priority for the surrounding community,” said 8th District Councilman Mike Polensek in a written statement. His district includes East Glenville and Collinwood Village. He recalled that his late uncle worked at National Acme during its heyday, but now garbage collectors, scrap dealers, vandals and rats have turned the property into a terrible hazard, affecting residents and nearby businesses.

“This redevelopment is not just about removing a public nuisance – it is about revitalizing this neighborhood and providing new opportunities for the larger community,” Polensek added, expressing his sincere gratitude to his colleagues on the Cleveland City Council, Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration and SRF for supporting this effort.

Just nine years ago, in March 2015, the National Acme plant on East 131st Street was far less covered by vegetation, and not just because a long winter prevented the leaves from blooming. But the inactivity around the plant showed that it was no longer functioning (abandedonline.net).

The National Acme Manufacturing Co. factory was built in 1917 to manufacture machine tools. The company was formed in 1901 through the merger of the Acme Screw Machine Company of Hartford, Connecticut, and a new company, the National Manufacturing Company of Cleveland. Manufacturing operations were consolidated in Cleveland. The company’s growth required a new, larger factory, which led to the construction of the East 131st plant, which soon employed more than 1,000 workers.

National Acme became Acme-Cleveland Corp. in 1968 through a merger with Cleveland Twist Drill Co., founded in 1876. By 1980, Acme-Cleveland had more than 15 factories and employed 6,300 people. Annual sales were around $5 billion. according to abandonedonline.netBut cheaper foreign competition soon undermined the business so much that the company had to sell parts of its business to survive.

The East 131st plant was operated by DeVlieg-Bullard Inc. in 1995, and Acme-Cleveland’s stock was purchased by conglomerate Danaher Corp. DeVlieg-Bullard filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1999, and the plant was sold to real estate holding company Acme Realty LLC the following year. Part of the plant was leased back to DeVlieg-Bullard, but the company gradually moved operations to a more modern plant in the suburb of Twinsburg.

Acme Realty leased the East 131st factory to All Points in 2011 for a cardboard and paper waste recycling facility. Part of the factory was illegally demolished, and the demolition released asbestos fibers into the environment. Additionally, piles of rubble and asbestos were left outdoors, exposed to wind and weather, posing numerous health risks to local residents. In the 2010s, three men were convicted of crimes related to their operations at the factory.

A look at key economic, environmental and health data reveals the distress, disinvestment and decay of the community surrounding the former National Acme plant. The median household income in the community averages $27,787, according to the Cuyahoga Land Bank, well below the state’s median housing income of $61,938.

The former National Acme Manufacturing Co., most recently used as an illegal recycling center, was once a thriving machine tool manufacturer that employed more than 6,000 people companywide, but this East Glenville plant was its largest factory (abandonedonline.net).

Additionally, the community’s poverty rate is nearly three times the statewide rate at 37 percent, education levels are well below the national average, and the community is filled with vacant buildings. Community residents also face greater environmental hazards than the average Ohioan and are less healthy than people in the rest of the state.

“By redeveloping this site, we are not only addressing environmental and safety concerns, but also paving the way for job creation and neighborhood revitalization,” said Brad Whitehead, SRF’s executive director. “We look forward to finding a community-minded business or development partner to join us in the redevelopment once the site is ready for work.”

SRF was founded in August 2023 by Bibb in partnership with the Cleveland City Council with $50 million in seed capital. The first property was acquired in April – the old Wellman-Seaver Engineering Co. in the Central neighborhood. This nationally unique nonprofit organization aims to breathe new life into 1,000 acres of neglected real estate, catalyze the creation of 25,000 jobs, promote neighborhood vitality, increase resident prosperity and improve environmental sustainability.

“The National Acme site exemplifies the urgent need for projects like ours,” added Whitehead. “To realize their potential, we must address the challenges of contaminated and complex brownfield sites. Cleveland has the expertise and infrastructure to transform these sites into valuable assets that will benefit our community for generations to come.”

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