Ex-Westinghouse site returns as The Landing
Businesses fill former plant
The Herald (Sharon, Pa.)
SHARON — After decades of neglect, an old industrial plant is showing signs of life.
Westinghouse Electric Corp.’s former transformer division building in Sharon has tenants in a small section of the plant’s office space.
One of those is Blissed Out Design, which makes drink coasters, largely with archival images. American Industries, which makes railroad car parts, also took up residence in a section of the plant.
Since businesses are now landing there, the entire 500,000-square-foot site now goes under the name The Landing. The space up for rent is divvied up with 250,000 square feet for industrial use and the remaining spaces are for light industrial and commercial use.
And the idea of new businesses in an old building thrills Sam Messina, who has been the plant’s caretaker for decades.
“You really can see things are happening now,’’ Mr. Messina said. “It looks so much better.’’
Westinghouse produced transformers in the sprawling factory on 58 acres along SharpsvilleAvenue from the early 1920s until it closed the plant in 1985.
Five years later, the plant was deemed a federal Superfund Site by the Environmental Protection Agency because of PCBs — polychlorinated biphenyls — that Westinghouse used in manufacturing its transformers. PCBs were determined to have harmful health effects.
The PCBs’ cleanup cost nearly $30 million, but the site is now ready to take the next step, said Jack Campbell, vice president of Winner Development, which bought much of the factory and office in 1999.
“We have tenants now, and we’re working with more who want to settle here,’’ Mr. Campbell said.
That’s a far different scenario than it was more than a decade ago, he said.
When walking through the abandoned plant for the first time, Mr. Campbell acknowledged it was a dismal tour.
“There was no heat, no electricity,’’ Mr. Campbell said. “It was like the catacombs.’’
Prospective tenants were given tours and they all gave the same answer: “No thank you,’’ he recalled.
Then, Winner Development turned over the leasing responsibilities to the nonprofit Valley Shenango Economic Development Corp.
“That’s made it a lot easier to get state grants’’ for remodeling to make the space suitable for businesses, said Mr. Messina, a consultant for Winner Development.
Earlier this year Valley Shenango landed a $3 million state grant to whip the plant into shape for tenants.
Both Mr. Messina and Mr. Campbell agree, there formerly was no way for any for-profit business to make a go of it.
“We couldn’t charge enough rent to get our money back and be competitive,’’ Mr. Campbell said.
Now there are real economic incentives to moving into the plant.
“The rent is half the price of what you might find in Pittsburgh,’’ Mr. Campbell said, adding, “We can transform the space into almost anything a business might need.’’