Although difficult to see from Bradley Road in summer time, River Recycling Industries, Inc. will be more visible this winter, especially as demolition and reconstruction work take place following a destructive fire in September (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Reconstruction follows September fire
A start-from-scratch rebuilding project was launched today following a late-September fire at River Recycling Industries, Inc., 4195 Bradley Rd., in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood. The fire ignited multiple rounds of live bullets that were among spent casings to be recycled along with a propane tank that exploded.
Thankfully no one was hurt in the Sept. 22 blaze on the city’s south side that required 80 firefighters to extinguish, and which rekindled two days later. But the six-building, 80,000-square-foot metal recycling plant was heavily damaged.
A new start was begun today, celebrated despite the cold and snow in an enclosed tent at the front of the fire-damaged recycling center. About 30 people work at River Recycling Industries.
Of the overall facility, 31,673 square feet will be demolished at a cost of $125,000, according to a permit application submitted to the city’s Building Department last month by RYOC Inc. of Cleveland.
Dane Contractors Inc. of Westlake stabilized the site and made it safe again following the fire, including electrical utility work, incurring costs of about $2.2 million, public records show.
Overhead view of River Recycling Industries, Inc. between Bradley Road plus the CSX railroad tracks and the Cuyahoga River as seen in 2023 (Google).
The late-September fire was not considered suspicious. A Cleveland Fire Department spokesman said it was started by workers grinding metal on a loading dock. The sparks from that work that ignited dust and cardboard.
Dane Contractors will also serve as the general contractor for the plant’s reconstruction, estimated to be a $4 million job. No plans for the reconstruction were submitted to the city as the facility will be rebuilt as it was, albeit more modern.
However, much of the plant was fairly new, with approximately 56,300 square feet of it newly constructed in 2004, according to the property’s permit history listed among Cuyahoga County property records.
The 8.37-acre property is owned by River Smelting & Refining Co., as it has been since 1924. In 2001, the property was leased to Duck Creek Energy Inc. of Brecksville for the drilling and extraction of oil, gas and all constituents thereof, county records show.
This section of Bradley Road is lined mostly with trucking firms and towing companies. However, a vacant 29-acre property at 4300 Bradley that was once a aluminum plant sold earlier this year to an Independence company Bradley Stars Ltd. that is preparing it as a development site. That development remains a mystery.
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