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Rendering by R3A Architecture<\/p>\n
Originally published in NAIOP Developing Pittsburgh Fall 2023<\/em><\/p>\n On May 1, Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro was in New Kensington to announce that Re:Build Manufacturing (Re:Build) had agreed to lease 175,000 square feet in the New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park. The agreement, which will kick start the redevelopment of the former Schreiber Industrial Park by Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) and Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation (WCIDC), was the culmination of a yearlong effort that regional leaders hope can be a blueprint for business attraction and economic development.<\/p>\n RIDC and WCIDC are investing $3 million in equity each and overseeing $31 million in renovations to what was the initial manufacturing site for Alcoa. To accomplish the redevelopment, and to attract Re:Build as an anchor tenant, the developers were joined by state and local agencies and the R. K. Mellon Foundation to pull together what will be an $81 million investment.<\/p>\n The project represents a significant win for the cities of New Kensington and Arnold. In 2018, the Redevelopment Authority of the City of New Kensington, which represents both towns, acquired the Schreiber Industrial Park for the purpose of upgrading it and attracting new businesses. The public-private partnership that put together the successful Re:Build proposal allowed the Redevelopment Authority to transfer the park and eliminated the debt of more than $10 million.<\/p>\n Jason Rigone, executive director of WCIDC, says the redevelopment is the culmination of nearly a decade of investment in New Kensington. Rigone points out that Westmoreland Business and Research Park, located about five miles southeast of New Kensington in Upper Burrell Township, is nearly sold out after almost two million square feet of development.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of the success at that location we recognized that there was market potential in the northwestern corner of the county, the Alle-Kiski district. The former Alcoa manufacturing facility has always been a priority location for us,\u201d Rigone says. \u201cOur direct investment into New Kensington really started in 2014 and 2015 when we partnered with the Penn State New Kensington branch. Chancellor Snyder had a vision of utilizing institutional expertise and partnering with local organizations to create economic development in small downtown areas. WCIDC built a small building and leased it to Penn State New Kensington for its entrepreneurial center.\u201d<\/p>\n The investment proved to be an early spark that triggered other investments. Since that center opened, more than 40 small businesses have located along New Kensington\u2019s Fifth Avenue. That success led to a deeper investment in the Alle-Kiski Valley.<\/p>\n \u201cPenn State\u2019s next investment was done in partnership with our partners here at the Economic Growth Connection, building the Digital Foundry,\u201d Rigone continues.<\/p>\n The Digital Foundry helps train the local workforce in the use of robotics, sensors, and new technologies associated with Industry 4.0. It supports manufacturers and industries that are looking to deploy Industry 4.0 in their businesses. The hope was that the Digital Foundry would also draw employers to the area. It would prove to play a role in landing Re:Build.<\/p>\n Re:Build\u2019s mission is to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., investing in companies, technology, and locations to rejuvenate American industry. One of its goals is to bring new investment to communities that were formerly manufacturing towns but had lost those businesses when the manufacturers became uncompetitive.<\/p>\n The search for a first manufacturing site for Re:Build came to the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA) in May 2022. Patty Horvatich, senior vice president of business investment for the PRA, was encouraged by the requirements of the search and the site selection consultant.<\/p>\n \u201cWe work very hard at the relationships with the site selection consultants, so they know when there\u2019s a good fit for the Pittsburgh region. We were contacted by Jeanette Goldsmith from Strategic Development Group, who has evaluated properties in this region numerous times,\u201d Horvatich explains. \u201cShe evaluated 90 buildings in 15 communities in multiple states. We proposed numerous sites, but she selected four to visit. There was one in Washington County, one in Allegheny County, and two in Westmoreland County.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the key search criteria was that a site be in a community with a manufacturing legacy. Among the developers and property owners contacted, RIDC found it had some connections to Re:Build and began to look for a partnership.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of Re:Build\u2019s executives had a connection to someone in the robotics field in Pittsburgh, who mentioned something to [RIDC president] Don Smith. I made a connection through another person that was not related to this project,\u201d says Tim White, senior vice president, business development and strategy at RIDC. \u201cThere were several Pittsburgh linkages, including Thomas Tull, who is one of their primary investors. And Jeff Wilkie, who is the chairman of their board and had a very successful career with Amazon, was raised in Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, we have two degrees of separation and that helped get us on the list with a favorable view.\u201d<\/p>\n RIDC would propose several of its sites, but it also reached out to WCIDC, with which RIDC has had success in redeveloping the former Sony plant in New Stanton.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the opportunity came knocking, Re:Build was looking for a community on the way up that understood the connection to manufacturing. They were looking for a community that had been through rough times,\u201d recalls Rigone. \u201cThe site was a priority for us because we thought that the cost competitiveness of the location compared to other parts of the region was vital. When you add in the resurgence of New Kensington and the partnership with Penn State in downtown, it created a strong marketing approach for attracting investment.\u201d<\/p>\n The partnership between RIDC and WCIDC made sense in that it multiplied the political and philanthropic reach that each had. That would prove critical.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are not a ton of buildings that are easy to move into that are manufacturing buildings. When you add in the requirement of being in an existing manufacturing community and having the ability to grow there are even fewer sites,\u201d says White. \u201cWe had to compete against sites and buildings that were in better shape and more cost-effective in other states. That\u2019s where the hard work came in trying to put together the package, understanding what they needed and figuring out how to get that done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese projects are always complex. Any project involving a national search always has challenges, whether that\u2019s workforce, site selection, investment, or financing,\u201d says Rigone. \u201cFor this project, the property had a tremendous amount of deferred maintenance. Trying to bring it up to Class A manufacturing space took a lot of creativity, as well as investment.\u201d<\/p>\n The winning proposal brought together a site that met the requirements of the search and a package of financial support from state and local governments, in conjunction with the private sector. In addition to the grant from the R. K. Mellon Foundation and the equity from the two industrial development corporations, Pennsylvania came through with a $1.5 million Pennsylvania First grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and $7 million from a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant. Westmoreland County helped bridge the gap with a portion of its American Rescue Plan Act funds.<\/p>\n Re:Build is making a $50 million investment in the finished facility. The company expects to hire 300 workers. The first of those \u2013 manufacturing leads and technicians \u2013 have already been hired. At the project announcement, Wilkie emphasized the importance of bringing such a facility to a community with New Kensington\u2019s legacy and difficulties. He also praised the teamwork the parties showed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a spirit of cooperation and collaboration from the first call that Jeanette made through the ribbon cutting. Our rich manufacturing legacy was very important to Re:Build. They saw potential,\u201d Horvatich says. \u201cWe also had bipartisan support for this project. That is something we\u2019re excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think because of the focus from the county, the private sector investment, and the philanthropic leadership at R.K. Mellon, the new governor recognized it was an important opportunity from an economic development standpoint,\u201d says White. \u201cRight out of the gate Governor Shapiro\u2019s team was very involved. DCED Secretary Rick Siger was a great supporter to help get this deal closed.<\/p>\n \u201cPittsburgh has some unique characteristics that appeal to them. The research base at Carnegie Mellon was appealing. We have manufacturing space in old locales that are ripe for reinvestment. Having a partnership of various local groups come together for support is a big reason why we got the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think this is an example of how the region has been successful: bringing the resources necessary, whether that was equity investment by our organization or RIDC, the foundations getting involved, or the state and county partnership,\u201d says Rigone.<\/p>\n Demolition and remediation of the buildings that Re:Build will occupy is underway. Those facilities are the oldest in the park, which presents unusual challenges to modernizing for an Industry 4.0 manufacturer.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the biggest challenges for this project is designing for flexibility, both with planning the manufacturing spaces but also designing a flexible and adaptable approach and framework for the electrical and other infrastructure critical to functionality of the building,\u201d says Jon Williams<\/strong>, associate and project architect for R3A Architecture. \u201cReBuild\u2019s approach to the manufacturing process is meant to be an agile one and to be able to adjust and pivot the space from one manufacturing process or project to another. A big component of ReBuild\u2019s vision is providing and supporting a manufacturing process using smart technologies and having a flexible framework for plug and play power distribution becomes critical to that process overall.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe challenge is rehabilitating structures that are nearly 100 years old to be suitable for a Class A manufacturing facility to compete with some of the best in the world,\u201d says Chris Olivo, project manager for Mascaro Construction LP. \u201cThere are not any major structural issues. The challenge is more in the rehabilitation process. We want to take something that was a prominent fixture in the area and return it to that, including cosmetics. That includes upgrading the exterior, building a new fa\u00e7ade, and fixing the roof. But the bones of it are standing strong after a hundred years.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Re:Build location was the catalyst for the accelerated redevelopment of the former Schreiber property, RIDC and WCIDC emphasize that it is the first step in a multi-year process. The New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park includes almost 70 acres and 20 buildings of 1.1 million square feet of leasable space. Currently there are seven other companies occupying 495,000 square feet of space. After Re:Build occupies, the park will have more than 40 percent of its property available for occupancy.<\/p>\n The first 175,000 square feet that Re:Build is taking will be up and running next year, but there is still another million square feet that is partially occupied or unoccupied and will require additional investment to make it a competitive manufacturing space,\u201d notes White. \u201cThe true success of the development is still in the future. There are some functionally obsolete buildings that are unoccupied. We will chip away and work with the county and state to get the next space ready for another manufacturer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality of it is that the project is not necessarily an investment in a company; it\u2019s an investment in the site. We believe Re:Build will be there for many years but, if they are not, we have created the opportunity to attract the next Class A manufacturing operation,\u201d says Rigone. \u201cTen or 15 years from now we will see a dramatic change in the physical condition of the park. It will be one that is modern and attracts Class A manufacturing tenants. We may even see some new construction take place if we are able to remove some of the old structures that are beyond reinvestment. We are hopeful that it will be a center of employment and economic development in the Alle-Kiski sector of Westmoreland County.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rendering by R3A Architecture Originally published in NAIOP Developing Pittsburgh Fall 2023 On May 1, Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro was in New Kensington to announce that Re:Build Manufacturing (Re:Build) had agreed …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,19],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4531,"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4527\/revisions\/4531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.r3a.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230726_Break-Room-1024x576.png\")
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