Carrie Furnace Site Includes Storm Water Improvements
The Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, (RACC) voted to enter into a partnership with the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) to develop the Carrie Furnace site.
According to RIDC, the phased development will have portions for various commercial uses including: flex-tech, R&D, biotech, film production, workforce education and training life sciences, light manufacturing and assembly, and more.
RIDC is working with the Pittsburgh Film Office and other parties on the possibility of creating The Film Furnace, a film studio campus with sound stages and other amenities. The property includes 52 acres of developable land, which accompanies the more than 500,000-square-feet of new construction.
There are an additional 11 acres available west of the furnaces for future phases of development if they occur, added RIDC. RAAC purchased the site Aug. 2005 and has completed underground vault excavation, site remediation, sanitary sewer work, storm water and water line installations, and a flyover bridge and roadway to connect the site to the Rankin Bridge.
RIDC will begin infrastructure and roadway design fall 2021 and begin construction work in the spring of 2022. The infrastructure and roadway work will be followed by construction of 100,000 square feet of tech flex buildings on site, reported RIDC.
The project will incorporate the county’s plans to create a riverside pedestrian and bike trail along the Monongahela River as well. The project will connect the Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge to the Great Allegheny Passage and the Westmoreland Heritage Trail via the Turtle Creek Valley.
”This latest project further builds on the seven decades of collaboration between Allegheny County and RIDC that began with redevelopment of the former county workhouse in O’Hara Township and became the first planned industrial park in Pennsylvania,” said Timothy White, RIDC senior vice president of development, according to RIDC. “We look forward to continuing this partnership and are excited to bring jobs and investment back to the Carrie Furnace site.”