Logans Ferry Demolition Could Bring Development Possibilities

With the demolition of what once was Alcoa’s Logans Ferry Powder Works, Plum will lose a historic touchstone but could gain a new foothold to the borough’s future.

A real estate company that bought the 20-acre industrial site in 1987 when Alcoa idled the plant recently began to raze more than a dozen brick buildings moldering at the base of Coxcomb Hill Road.

Alcoa moved its powder works to Plum in 1918 after the aluminum powder it produced sparked an explosion at the New Kensington Works the prior year. It was the first of three explosions associated with powder production in Alcoa’s New Kensington and Plum facilities that killed 17 people, the last in 1979.

During its 68 years of existence, the plant produced powder that gave automotive paint its sparkle, added durability and cooling properties to roof coatings, and was used as a base in rocket fuel, dynamite and fireworks.

Read more: http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourallekiskivalley/yourallekiskivalleymore/8090067-74/powder-works-ferry#ixzz3WdmIZAK7
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

Lancaster Is One Of Two Cities Tapped By Pa. For New CRIZ Economic Development Program

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Within a year, Lancaster city could see the first funding available under a new state program expected to spur economic development.

Gov. Tom Corbett announced Tuesday afternoon that Lancaster and Bethlehem are the first two cities selected for City Revitalization and Improvement Zones.

Lancaster’s application, submitted late last month, promised the program could stimulate $210 million in new investment during its first phase.

“With First Fridays, the burgeoning arts district, new shops and restaurants, there is a success here on which we can build,” state Sen. Lloyd Smucker said Tuesday at a hastily arranged press conference.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/937842_Lancaster-is-one-of-two-cities-tapped-by-Pa–for-new-CRIZ-economic-development-program-.html#ixzz2p0UKjTqW

Reading City Council Weighs Options For Industrial Site

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Should some city entity buy the empty northwest Reading parcel where the skeleton of the half-built Berkshire Bottling Works has stood rusting since 2007?

At 50 acres, it’s the last big industrial site left in the city, and it’s up for foreclosure, city sources said Monday.

And City Council, which discussed the site in executive session last week, discussed the possibilities again on Monday in another executive session, this time with officials of the Reading Area Water Authority.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=518224

Lancaster City Redevelopment Authority Votes To Become Equity Investor In $4.8 Million Apartment Project

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Until recently, when real estate developers wanted an extra financial push to make a city redevelopment project viable, they turned to state officials.

But grant funding through the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development has all but dried up, and competition for the remaining funds is fierce.

On Tuesday, the Lancaster City Redevelopment Authority agreed to step into the gap to make a project happen.

Authority board members voted to become equity investors in a $4.8 million apartment construction project.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/839507_City-redevelopment-authority-votes-to-become-equity-investor-in–4-8-million-apartment-project.html#ixzz2QqlkDQLs

Developer Of Old Armorcast Site Wants Big Tax Break From Daniel Boone School District

Now that the former Armorcast factory in Birdsboro is demolished, the property owner and developers are hoping to also clear the unpaid real estate taxes.

Steve Marshall, a lawyer for Meco Demolition Inc. of Bensalem, Bucks County, asked the Daniel Boone School Board this week to waive or reduce real estate taxes from 2007 to 2011 for the 91-acre property.  Unpaid taxes owed to the district total about $86,000.

Owner Gregory Flynn of Armorcast LP hired Meco to demolish the dilapidated factory, which produced steel for tanks during World War II.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=444662

Brownfield Clean Up Project In Luzerne County Moves Forward

Image via Wikipedia

A large brownfield site in Luzerne County, the former site of Poseidon Pools’ factory, will be cleaned up and put on the market next year.  The 40-acre sight, in Wright Township, Luzerne County, is owned by the Greater Wilkes-Barre Development Corporation.  Poseidon pools filed for bankruptcy in 1998!

Soil remediation has already taken place using money from the state’s Industrial Sites Recovery Program.  A $1 million dollar grant has been procured from the Infrastructure Development Program to pay for demolition and clean up.

The property will be sold in one piece, not divided into parcels.