[CPEO-BIF] Constraints redeveloping old mills in Pennsylvania

["Robert Hersh" <b_hersh@verizon.net>]

Restarting growth in the region's brownfields a tough sell
  			
By C.M. Mortimer
Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, March 4, 2007

When Anchor Glass Container Corp. shuttered its South Connellsville, Fayette
County, bottling plant in November 2004, the abrupt closing left about 300
workers stunned.

Today, the building that once made Rolling Rock bottles for the old Latrobe
Brewing Co. remains vacant, one of hundreds of dormant buildings and former
mill sites that dot the region's landscape, ripe for use by some company or
risk-taker.

Which raises the question, why aren't they being used?

Developers and real estate experts cite factors including location, the
expense to retrofit a site for occupancy, a developer's preference for a
brand-new facility and luck.

"A lot of brownfields don't work geographically. A lot of mills sit on
rivers, and you can't get to them. Companies want to sit on an interstate
highway. For the money to retrofit, they can buy a new building," said
Patrick J. Tracy, a broker with Downtown-based Langholz Wilson Ellis Inc.


For the entire article, see:
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/rss/s_495941.html


Bob Hersh
CPEO


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