Carrie Furnace gets $7.5M in state funding to move forward with redevelopment

The site of a former blast furnace is working on a makeover that could bring a flexible technology space, light manufacturing and film production and on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania state government allocated millions of dollars to help that project along.

State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, announced $7.5 million in state funding for the redevelopment project at the brownfield Carrie Furnace site in Rankin, along the banks of the Monongahela River.

An agreement between Allegheny County, the site’s owner, and the Regional Industrial Development Corp. (RIDC) was reached last year to redevelop 52 acres of the 65-acre site, leaving the history blast furnace intact.

RIDC president Don Smith said the state funding was essential in moving the project forward. He said it recently received approval from Rankin officials and RIDC is close to starting site preparation for development.

‘This is a critical first step,” said Smith.

According to Costa, the $7.5 million in funding will go towards Phase II of III for the complete redevelopment of the site, which include acquisition of 4 acres from the county and the development of a 52,000 square foot Film Ready Tech Flex Spec building. The $7.5 million is split between a $3 million grant and $4.5 million loan from the state’s Business in Our Site (BiOS) program.

These funds will specifically be used for acquisition, excavation, grading, sidewalks, and construction of the parking fields associated with the film production building, according to Costa.

Costa said redeveloping the site of the Carrie Furnace is “an important economic development opportunity for the future of Rankin” and the Mon Valley.

Smith said the BiOS funding will enable the developer to move forward with plans for the Tech Flex office building, which hopes to attract tech business, and dedicated sound stages that will be targeted for film and television production.

He said the Tech Flex building and sound stages could start construction early next year, and if everything goes swimmingly, be completed by the end of 2023.

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After that, the goal is to continue to develop the large site with additional tech office and manufacturing space, as well as more film production facilities. Smith said, eventually, he hopes the Carrie Furnace site will attract not just jobs in specialties like tech and film, but jobs that support those industries that can be acquired by people living in Mon Valley.