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Ford City Restores a Former
Industrial Site, and Itself
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Ford City, PA
ocated some 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny
River, Ford City, Pennsylvania is an example of how a community can
rebound from a severe economic blow. Only a few years after the loss of
an industrial institution that was the borough's largest employer, Ford City is
in the process of creating new commercial, industrial, and recreational space
that will be home not only to new industry, but green space and an 8,000
foot walking trail along the river, a public meeting house, and a museum
celebrating Ford City's industrial heritage.
The company that left Ford City in 1993 was the same company that helped
build the city more than 100 years earlier. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Industries,
Inc. (PPG) established itself in Ford City in 1887 and at one time employed
5,000 workers and was the largest plate glass factory in the world. But
through a slow decline that started in the mid 1960s—attributed to shrinking
markets and labor disagreements—PPG reduced operations and finally, in
1993, shut down entirely. By that time nearly 45 percent of Ford City's
population (approximately 6,200 residents during its heyday) had left the
area. A statue of the town's founder, PPG's "father of plate glass" John B.
Ford, that once surveyed the bustling PPG plant, found itself gazing at 57
acres of idle property representing Ford City's only developable land.
Seven acres of this land came under ownership by Ford City in 1999. This
seven-acre parcel had been sold to another company in 1981, who then
leased it to a third company, AMCO, for a foundry operation. AMCO filed
for bankruptcy in 1995 and abandoned the site, leaving behind three empty
buildings and unknown levels of contamination from more than a century of
industrial uses. While PPG entered the state's Voluntary Cleanup Program,
and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP)
performed $225,000 worth of preliminary assessments on the former AMCO
property, additional assessments and sampling were required to confirm the
Pennsylvania DEP's findings and develop a cleanup plan.
EPA's Brownfields Pilot, awarded to Ford City in 1998, enabled more detailed
assessments of the former AMCO property, discovering arsenic and lead in
the soil and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the groundwater. In
continued ^
JUST THE FACTS:
• In addition to assessments, the
Brownfields Pilot assisted Ford City in
ongoing negotiations with PPG to turn
over the former plant property to the
town, following the company's own
environmental investigation.
• With more than $ 1 million required for
cleanup and more than $4 million
estimated to restore existing buildings
on just one portion of the site, Ford City
enlisted the support of several
partners—both federal and state—to
move forward in creating the new
Heritage and Technology Park (F£AT).
• When complete, the F£AT will feature
more than 90,000 square feet of
commercial, office, and light industrial
space, and will house a business
incubator, a video conference/distance
learning center, and a museum paying
tribute to Ford City's 105 years of glass
making.
Pittsburgh Plate Glass
Industries, Inc. (PPG) established itself
in Ford City in 1887 and at one time
employed 5,000 workers and was the
largest plate glass factory in the world.
By the time the company ceased
operations in 1993—following a
decline that had started in the mid
1960s—nearly 45 percent of Ford
City's population had left the area. The
57 acres that were home to the empty
glass plant represented Ford City's
only developable land.
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addition to assessments, the Pilot assisted Ford City in ongoing negotiations with PPG to turn over the
remaining 50 acres to the town, following the company's own environmental investigation.
In October 2002, the deed for the remaining 50 acres was transferred to Ford City
Borough, providing the town with the entire 57-acre site for cleanup and
redevelopment.
CONTACTS:
For more information contact
US EPARegion 3: (215) 814-3132
Or visit EPA's Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Ford City Borough created the Greater Ford City Community Development
Corporation (GFCCDC) in 1999 to administer grant funding and develop
brownfields. Quarterly public meetings were held to allow community
participation in determining the site's reuse. The result was a plan for the
new Heritage and Technology Park (FIAT), which will feature more than 90,000
square feet of commercial, office, and light industrial space within PPG's former
machine shop. The HAT will house a business incubator, a video conference/
distance learning center, and a museum paying tribute to Ford City's 105 years of
glass making. The 50-acre site has space for 10 to 14 new companies. Redevelopment
plans also include a 3,000-square-foot office/public meeting house, installation of 8,000 feet of
walking trails along the river, a new parking area, and a wall to protect against river flooding. As a result
of site restoration efforts, the Borough now has its first ever green space along the river.
With more than $ 1 million required for cleanup and more than $4 million estimated to restore existing
buildings on the seven-acre, former AMCO site alone, Ford City needed the support of several partners—
both federal and state—to move forward in creating the HAT. A grant from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development's Economic Development Initiative provided $1.5 million for
redevelopment of the three former AMCO buildings. The Economic Development Administration
contributed $5 81,000 to rebuild the former foundry building. The state contributed $3 million in the form
of a capital budget award. The Steel Industry Heritage Corporation put in $75,000 toward creation of the
industrial heritage museum. And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers donated approximately $ 1 million in
services to restore the flood prevention wall, install a new parking area, and create a 500-foot walking
trail. A match of $265,000 was contributed from the PA DEP for the river wall project.
Cleanup and restoration has been finished on the 30,000-square-foot, former ARCO Foundry building.
The building is now home to OEM Shades, a window blind manufacturer with the potential to create as
many as 125 jobs by the end of its 5-year lease period. Cleanup is also complete at the HAT's second
building, a 60,000 square-foot structure that is now in the design stages for reuse. Startup of the HAT is
the first step in a maj or restoration for a town that less than a decade ago watched its hopes for prosperity
vanish.
Because of these efforts, Ford City was adopted by the Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board to demonstrate
successful partnerships between the federal government and grass roots revitalization efforts. The city
was also nominated as a "Rebuild America" community model by the Department of Energy, which
provided technical expertise to ensure that the HAT's buildings would be energy efficient.
Brownfields Success Story
Ford City, Pennsylvania
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-03-032
May 2003
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
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