James Herron

Background

About James Herron

Nominated "Person Of The Year" 2010 by Brownfield Renewal: Current Issue 2011 James Herron, Chief Development Of — Cuyahoga County Department of Development (12) Reason: James Herron, currently the Chief Development Officer of the Cuyahoga County, Ohio Department of Development, has been a brownfield industry leader for over ten years. As a founding member of the County’s Community Assessment Initiative, an environmental site assessment grant program, and the Brownfield Redevelopment Fund, the nation’s first bond issuance solely for brownfield redevelopment, Jim remains at the forefront of innovative brownfield programming. Under Jim’s tutelage as Brownfield Program Manager, the Community Assessment Initiative (CAI), which is primarily funded with USEPA Assessment grants, invested over $3.1 million into 122 sites, which resulted in the environmental assessment of over acres. These assessments have leveraged over $70 million in additional investment, as well created and/or retained over 1,500 jobs. The Brownfield Redevelopment Fund (BRF), which is a forgivable loan program for remediation, lent $17.2 million into 20 projects, which leveraged over $200 million in additional investments. These projects have increased property values by $11 million, and created and/or retained 1,800 jobs. Further, in 2007, this program began incentivizing borrowers, through the availability of additional loan forgiveness, to include green/sustainable elements in their redevelopment. During Jim’s tenure, the Brownfield Redevelopment Division secured over $38 million in outside grants. In Cuyahoga County, James Herron is the ‘go to’ man for brownfield redevelopment. Specialties: job development, real estate/brownfield redevelopment projects, public finance, planning, commercial loan underwriting, securing and managing grants, manage diverse programs and professional staff.