Ironworks Square has gone from an idea on paper, through needed demolition, to become a buzzing construction site, and an emblem of hope.
“It’s neat to see the old bones come back to life,” said Site Superintendent Brian Vanhoozer. He walked us through the transformation on the exterior where a crane was lifting roofing beams, to the interior where 14 former foundry furnaces have been removed.
“We have almost completed all the roofing at this point which is huge for this project to get the building dried in because we are starting to do the interior fit-out currently between the elevator and stairwell and the public spaces, so we have a lot of action going on here currently,” Vanhoozer said.
Erie County Redevelopment Authority President and CEO Tina Mengine sais they are showing the property to interested commercial tenants nearly everyday. “So yeah a lot of interest, we anticipate by the end of the year we’ll have the majority, if not all of it leased.”
When the entire Ironworks square is completed by the end of this year it won’t just be home to some new businesses or expanding local businesses. There will be a restaurant and bar with glass garage doors and an outside patio to welcome the community inside.
ECRDA itself plans to move its offices into the space, there will be a big conference room, and the multi-story office building on the corner of the property is drawing a lot of attention from prospective tenants. “We’re projecting about 250 people will be working on this campus when it’s done,” Mengine said, “which is a welcome change from decades of blight and deterioration.”
Mengine said grant money is making this project possible. It’s a $25-million investment and $19-million of that has come from grant funds – state RAC-P, federal appropriations, Appalachian Regional Commission grants and city and county American Rescue Plan dollars. She said it’s proof that everyone sees Ironworks Square as a vital catalyst for the 12th Street corridor.
“I think that’s why we’ve gotten so much support from local governments all the way up to the federal, because this will be transformational for the entire corridor. It’s designed for that, designed to be a catalyst so that others make big investments in their properties and so we can bring this back to life.”
Mengine expects to announce the restaurant and bar that will be in the building soon, and some other tenants who are looking for commercial office space. Ironworks Square is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Leases will become a long-term source of revenue for the Erie County Redevelopment Authority’s ongoing work.