The Orlando Baking Company, which was founded in 1872 in Castel di Sangro, Italy and came to Cleveland in 1904, has received a $1.3 million Clean Ohio grant to clean up a brownfield adjacent to its facility at E. 79th and Woodland Avenue. Orlando plans to expand onto the property, retaining about 40 jobs and creating 15 new jobs.
The funds will be used to demolish and remediate the former Van Dorn property at 2700 E. 79th Street. The City of Cleveland is a partner in the cleanup project.
Orlando Baking sells bread throughout Northeast Ohio and around the country. Orlando recently introduced a probiotic bread that contains the same healthy microbes that exist in foods such as yogurt. The company has expanded several times in its Cleveland location, and currently employs about 300 workers.
Clean Ohio grants are provided through a competitive application process to allow for the reuse of commercial and industrial properties that are currently underutilized. Since its inception, 150 Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund projects have been awarded more than $295 million, leveraging $2.5 billion in private sector investment and creating and retaining more than 12,500 jobs.
Source: Ohio Department of Development, Orlando Baking Company
Writer: Lee Chilcote