Old Armstrong Plant to be Transformed by Developer

Lancaster County, PA, October 31, 2005--A coalition of four local entities on Friday unveiled its plan to transform most of the old 65-acre Armstrong plant complex by applying two forces: time and money. In copious amounts. The result — maybe 14 years and $150 million from now — will be a bustling redevelopment anchored by lush athletic fields and state-of-the-art medical buildings. It could turn out to be the most expensive city revitalization project ever, exceeding even the proposed $134 million downtown hotel and convention center. But without question, the sweeping project will alter the Liberty Street site so dramatically that future visitors may doubt that a factory covered the majority of it for a century. Officials from coalition members Franklin & Marshall College and the Economic Development Co., joined by newcomer Lancaster General, announced their plans Friday. “Our vision for this site is a consummate, mixed-use urban development: commercial, residential, retail and recreational, all together,” said F&M president John Fry. Fry and other officials noted the venture will give F&M and Lancaster General — two community bedrocks — precious room to grow while bringing jobs, tax revenue and green space to the city. At the same time, it prevents the vacated section of the Liberty Street plant from becoming a lingering blight on the city’s otherwise vibrant Northwest quadrant. Amplifying a New Era story on Friday disclosing Lancaster General’s participation and several other key aspects of the project, officials said: • The effort to prime for redevelopment the 41 acres of the plant being vacated by Armstrong could start as early as June. Costing $32 million to $35 million, it could take three years. This task will involve razing everything standing on the site today (nearly 200 buildings), removing 407,000 tons of resulting debris and cleaning up contamination, then constructing new infrastructure (roads, curbs and utilities). Armstrong, Lancaster General and F&M will pay half of this price tag. The start will hinge on how quickly public sources can be tapped for the balance. • Of those 41 acres, F&M will buy 26 acres that initially will become perhaps five athletic fields, replacing lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, rugby and baseball fields at its Baker Campus along Harrisburg Pike. Building the fields will cost several million dollars. Ultimately, even the college’s Williamson Field stadium might be moved to the Armstrong site. College buildings could go there too, as the site will be cleaned to residential standards, the highest. As athletic fields, the land could be tax-exempt. However, F&M is offsetting that by constructing $30 million in taxable retail and residential buildings on Harrisburg Avenue. • The rest of the 41 acres will be bought by Lancaster General. Its 15-acre section will become four city blocks containing up to one million square feet of new structures, built over 10 years. If all get built, probably with partners, the new buildings could provide space for up to 2,000 workers and generate $3 million annually in real estate taxes. The health system could invest $50 million to $100 million in buildings and technology there over 10 years, estimated CEO Tom Beeman. Retail could occupy first floors while medical offices and residential units could fill some upper floors, officials said. Lancaster General has yet to determine how it will use the land, though it will serve to alleviate growth constraints at its Health Campus and main hospital. If the health system concludes it has land to spare, it might sell some for complementary uses.