East Palestine leaders said they can't afford to stand still following the lingering impacts of the train derailment, and now, they're exploring a massive project that could help reshape the village's future.

"It is a light commercial and industrial park. The intention is clear," Village Manager Antonio Diaz-Guy said, "We want to create local jobs in the community." 

The Community Improvement Corporation is considering buying over 84 acres for just over $1 millionon State Route 14. The goal is to create a commerce park that could attract businesses and expand the job base.

"We want many 10 to 50 person companies," Diaz-Guy said, "Whether that's in our existing areas of focus, like ceramics and fabrication, or it's a new industry like emergency services, manufacturing and PPE manufacturing. We're pretty much open to working with anybody."

First, they need to finish conducting geotechnical and environmental testing to determine whether the land is suitable.

"This will be done by the East Palestinian CIC Community Improvement Corporation," he said, "And then the village's role here is actually to support that business park with utilities and construction support and things."

One potential hurdle would be adding those utilities, which could cost millions.

"While the CIC is concerning themselves with the business park, getting that up and running, the village is concerning itself with, can we get utilities there affordably? How do we pay for those utilities? How do we fund that expansion?" Diaz-Guy added. 

After everything the community has endured, village leaders are focused on long-term stability and growth.

"We're not in a position to have the luxury of being complacent," he said, "So yeah, we're pushing the needle forward." 

The project would also require a Joint Economic Development District with Unity Township, allowing both the village and township to share tax revenue generated.

In the meantime, the village is also looking into potential federal or state funding opportunities to pay for utilities.

It's unclear at this point when construction could begin if the project moves forward, but the village said it could be in the next few years.