Cannelton approves continued cleanup at Can-Clay property

Cannelton approved a proposal for continued cleanup at the Can-Clay property, keeping a long-running remediation effort moving at a site that has sat at the center of local blight concerns for years. The decision keeps attention on a parcel that residents can see and city leaders have continued to treat as part of the city’s broader redevelopment problem.

The cleanup has a major financial backer. In September 2023, Cannelton won a $2 million settlement to clean up environmental waste at the blighted factory, adding a concrete dollar figure to a project that has been discussed in Perry County for years. That settlement tied the site not just to deterioration, but to the more expensive work of handling contamination and preparing the property for future use.

County records show the issue remained active in local government well after that settlement. The Perry County Redevelopment Commission met Sept. 23, 2024, at 4 p.m. in the Perry County Commissioners Room, with Jon Scheer serving as president and Bill Dickerson, David Etienne and Tony T. present. The meeting is another marker that Can-Clay was still on the local agenda and still being handled through formal government channels rather than left to drift.

Can-Clay matters in Cannelton because the city’s identity is tied to its built environment and its riverfront location. Cannelton describes itself as a historical sandstone community founded in 1837 along the Ohio River, a setting where old industrial and downtown properties can shape how the town looks and how outside investors read it. A city website also points to other downtown building and demolition issues, showing that Can-Clay is part of a wider cleanup and reuse challenge rather than an isolated case.

The property has also remained linked to redevelopment efforts over several years. Indiana Landmarks highlighted development opportunities in Cannelton in August 2019, and Inside INdiana Business reported on Nov. 27, 2024, that officials made a last-ditch effort to save a historic Cannelton building. Together, those efforts show a city still trying to balance preservation, demolition, environmental cleanup and future reuse one property at a time.