In neighboring Rankin, which includes the bulk of the site, borough council Vice President William Pfoff has attended countless meetings in hopes of seeing jobs and tax revenue emerge in the shadows of the furnace’s remnants. “Still not one job, not one building, not one concrete thing that you could really hang your hat on,” he grumbled in late November. “And now at the end of the year, I’m leaving office.”

Their boroughs have waited more than 40 years for economic life to return to the site, owned by Allegheny County since 2005. Pfoff and Swartzwelder have been members of a decade-old Carrie Furnace Steering Committee, made up of county and municipal officials. They’ve seen false dawns before, as developers expressed interest, then backed off.

Could a new plan be the real thing?

In August, the nonprofit Regional Industrial Development Corp. [RIDC] agreed to take on the job of reviving 104 acres of the site.

In September, the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County inked a deal with RIDC in which the Downtown-based developer agreed to:

  • Buy the 39.5 acres near the Rankin Bridge, over time, with the right of first offer to buy another roughly 60 developable acres over 10 years, all for $80,000 per acre
  • Start building within 10 months on each parcel that it purchases
  • Construct buildings for any one of a range of uses including technology, research and development, biotech, film production, workforce training, life sciences, light manufacturing and assembly or offices.

The remnant of the furnace, which has served as a film backdrop and Rivers of Steel tour site, is expected to be preserved.

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