State Approves $500,000 for Clean Up of Armstrong

Lancaster, PA, July 24, 2006--Business and political leaders look at the blighted Armstrong World Industries plant along Lancaster city's Liberty Street and see "green fields," as Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray put it, according to a report in the Intelligencer Journal. State Rep. Mike Sturla, who represents Lancaster city, announced Sunday state approval of a $500,000 grant. The money will help pay for the nearly 60-acre manufacturing site's metamorphosis from mostly empty buildings dominating the city's northwest scenery into a residential and recreational area, among other things. Armstrong, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster General Hospital and the Economic Development Co., of Lancaster have partnered for the transformation, which is still in the planning stages. EDC is set to receive an additional $200,000 for the project in a bill under consideration by the state Legislature. Much of the manufacturing site must be cleared out and potential environmental concerns addressed. From Harrisburg Avenue, the collection of crumbling red-brick buildings and other facilities dominate the sightlines to the north. The estimated demolition-and-cleanup cost is $35 million. "Can you imagine that area as a green space in the city?" Gray said. The $500,000 grant is "a small step, but it's an important step." Despite the hurdles, Lisa Riggs, executive director of James Street Improvement District, said the project is moving at a faster pace than expected. "A year ago, no one thought this could be redeveloped in a catalytic way, and now we are closing in to having the cleanup start," she said. No firm date has been set for demolition to start, Riggs said. "Hopefully work (will start) by the end of the year," she said. According to newspaper reports, Armstrong will transfer 41 acres to the EDC, which intends to sell 26 acres to Franklin & Marshall. EDC will sell the rest to Lancaster General. Franklin & Marshall and Lancaster General plan to pump $6 million apiece into the cleanup. Plans call for the rest of the $35 million to come from public funding sources. Armstrong intends to hold onto 19 acres and invest $8 million in a residential flooring plant along Dillerville Road. The move will keep 250 manufacturing jobs in Lancaster. Gray said F&M intends its portion of the project to be athletic fields, while Lancaster General is still contemplating what it wants to do there. "We're still years away from having that project completed," he said. "If this ($500,000 grant) didn't happen, then it would be back to the drawing board." The redevelopment plans are part of ongoing efforts to rejuvenate the city's northwest corner. About $200 million in development has been pumped into the area recently, including the opening of Clipper Magazine Stadium and several restaurants. F&M, whose campus is within eyesight of the Armstrong plant, is developing a new science-and- philosophy building as well as new commercial and residential complexes in the area.