Planning for a New Legacy of Manufacturing

Reimaging an Innovative Industrial Future for a Historic Manufacturing Site in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania

Project Summary

Community: Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Technical Assistance: Site Reuse Design
Former Use: Industrial Manufacturing
Future Use: Light Industrial and Commercial

Cumberland County and Carlisle, PA have a strong legacy
of industrial and manufacturing activity. The FrogSwitch
Manufacturing site is just one example of this enduring
legacy and covers approximately 34 acres along the major
thoroughfare that connects Interstate 81 to downtown
Carlisle. The company first operated in the Borough of
Carlisle in the 1800s, and while the site still has an active
foundry and produces some metal products, the footprint
of its operations has shrunk significantly in recent
decades.

The Community's Challenge

Carlisle's downtown has become a bustling and vibrant
shopping and dining destination and the county's economy
is shifting from being dominated by manufacturing. While
the site plays an important role in economic activity for the
borough, the decreasing operations and location on prime
road frontage into downtown makes it a critical site to
consider for future redevelopment.

EPA's Land Revitalization Technical Assistance
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of
Brownfield and Land Revitalization (OBLR) and EPA
Region 3 provided contractor technical assistance to the
Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment
Authority (CCHRA) to support future site reuse planning
for the FrogSwitch site to prepare for any changes in
available land along the corridor.

As a legacy industrial site, there are several potential
environmental considerations that relate to the industrial
foundry and finishing activities on site. However, the site is
currently an operating enterprise and environmental
assessments have not been conducted. The site owner
has been working with the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (PA DEP) to proactively address

some concerns on site, including the closure of a historic
landfill facility on the northeast section of the site. As
redevelopment efforts continue in the future, additional
environmental investigations will be needed to fully
characterize the status of the site.

The final reuse plan responded by providing multiple
alternatives for reuse, depending on the operating
decisions by FrogSwitch. One alternative scenario focuses
on a consolidation of site operations and backfilling the
site with light industrial activity to provide jobs to the
community and continue the industrial legacy of the site.
Another alternative considers the possibility of vacating the
site and reusing the land for commercial and industrial
uses. This scenario envisions activating the road frontage
with commercial uses while continuing lighter industrial
activities on other portions of the site. The two scenarios
also consider active and passive recreation spaces in the
northwest corner of the site. With these alternatives in
mind, the CCHRA can continue to discuss future options
and opportunities with FrogSwitch that benefit all parties.

Alternative B site reuse with commercial and light industrial uses.

For more information, contact Sydney Adams, EPA
Region 3 Brown fields Program, at

Adams.Svdnev@epa.gov.

United States
Environmental Protection
^*^1 M * Agency

Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
560-F-23-316

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