“When the city’s steel industry imploded in the late 1970s-early 1980s, it left behind large, unwanted industrial properties which, over time, led to neighborhood blight. The old bones of Pittsburgh’s industrial past are still there, but now they are being redeveloped to provide homes for a new type of industry—one that requires some level of manufacturing to develop their products; lots of indoor space for large equipment; and access to large amounts of outdoor space for test tracks or airspace for testing drones. These are common necessities among companies developing the next generation of robotics and advanced manufacturing technology.”

RIDC President Donald Smith pens article for Commercial Property Executive on the revival and reuse of Mill 19 in Hazelwood Green as a case in point: Revival of Old Industrial Buildings Can Symbolize Past, Present & Future Economic Prosperity.