BROOK PARK, Ohio -- Construction is officially under way on the Blue Abyss facility in Brook Park, with a unique twist -- tree clearing is being done with the help of horses.
Mayor Edward Orcutt provided an update on the $250 million research, training and hotel complex during the April 1 City Council meeting.
“Blue Abyss update: Last week, we broke ground with that project,” Orcutt said.
“They’re clearing trees. And for the folks that live out on the far west end, or anybody that travels out there, you’re going to see that they’re clearing the land with horses.”
The 12-acre site includes wetlands, which means Blue Abyss is required to follow specific environmental regulations from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
“There has to be a mitigation permit that Blue Abyss receives from the Ohio EPA,” Orcutt said.
“So what that means is every acre of land that is impacted over there, of the wetlands, they will have to purchase two-and-a-half acres somewhere else.”
While that permitting is in progress, the company is allowed to clear the land -- but without using heavy machinery.
That’s where the horses come in.
“They need to be able to do some boring to find out the orientation of where the building will lie,” Orcutt said in an interview with the News Sun.
“So, before they can do the construction documents, they need to do some boring. To do the boring, they have to clear the land, and they’re allowed to clear the land without any machinery, and that’s why they’re using the horses.”
“It’s creative; it’s ingenuity,” the mayor said. “It’s a good way to be able to start this project, because we do need to get these construction documents generated.”
The Blue Abyss facility will include one of the world’s deepest research pools -- estimated to be between 150 and 170 feet deep -- and is expected to attract aerospace, underwater and medical researchers from around the globe.
Brook Park Economic Development Commissioner Paul Marnecheck told the News Sun that four horses worked to clear the land, which was previously undeveloped woods and wetlands.
“It’s exciting,” Marnecheck said. “Now you start to see more and more of it as a reality. They’re looking where the building’s going to sit, and you can really start to see something happening there.
“It was something to see these beautiful, majestic horses doing this work,” Marnecheck added.
“It was interesting. You turn around, and there’s a 21st century jet taking off at Hopkins over a horse pulling a felled tree.”
Orcutt said the tree clearing took about two weeks.
“I don’t have an exact acreage per day that they put out,” he said.
“I’ll just tell you that it just seemed like they did a pretty quick job. t’s only taken two weeks, and they’re about done with all the clearing that they needed to do to get the boring machine in there.
“They’re allowed to do the boring.
“It was actually wonderful to watch,” he added. “It was unbelievable how they worked.”
Looking ahead, the mayor said a more accurate construction timeline will become clear once design documents are complete and contractors can assess the scope of the build.
“Well, as the architects work on the design of it, I think that will, once that’s completed and that job goes out to bid, there will be a better understanding from all the contractors involved on exactly how long that will take,” Orcutt said.
“It’s a very unique build because of how deep this pool is and how wide it is.
“Obviously, they’re going to have to build it in a way that they can maintain it, because they’re going to have pipes that are at the bottom of this pool. We have to be able to get to those pipes.”
He said seeing the clearing process in action gave him perspective on the project’s significance.
“As I’m talking to the team, and we’re out there onsite while the trees were getting cleared, I said, ‘You know, this is so special that we’re able to delicately perform this work the way that we’re doing it, with no machines.
“‘And actually, what it’s going to be here. It’s going to be something that puts us up in space in a modern way, to be able to live up there and sustain life,‘” Orcutt said.
The project also received a potential boost with an earmark in Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed budget for possibly $3 million in funding support.
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