It may not look like much now, but in a few months, the former Erie Malleable Iron site on West 12th will turn into the modernized “Erie Ironworks Square.”

After a snowy winter, the site superintendent said production is increasing, and they’re moving forward with exterior work on the building.

“We are working both inside and outside of the building. We have the elevator and stairwell shafts going up inside. We are pouring concrete floors. The outside of the building is starting with the siding, and the metal panels are going up, along with the glass windows going in on the west side and starting on the north side,” said Brian Vanhoozer, Site Superintendent with E.E. Austin & Son.

When it’s finished, Erie Ironworks Square will lease mixed-use space for businesses interested in calling the building home.

Erie Ironworks Square expected to complete construction in August 2026

So far, the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, who owns the property, is looking to set up shop in the building, and last month, FishUSA announced their commitment to building a new 60,000 square foot office at the site.

However, there’s still work to be done before tenants start moving in.

“The goal is still the end of 2026. We’re hoping to move that forward as much as possible, but we’re doing what we can with what we’ve got,” said Vanhoozer.

A few blocks down the street, work on the “Flagship City Commons” on North Park Row is also moving along.

The CEO of the Erie Downtown Development Corporation, which owns the property, said they’re starting to make vertical progress, putting up steel beams to lay the framework for the new building.

The EDDC just broke ground on the project last summer, but when it’s finished, he said they will start to rent parts of the building to interested tenants.

“We have two hospitality spaces on the ground floor, one facing North Park Row, and one facing 5th Street – restaurant, bar, and coffee shop kind of places. We have two retail spaces as well, one on the first floor of Marlena Place as well as one facing 5th Street,” said Drew Whiting, Erie County Redevelopment Authority CEO.

Flagship City Commons aims to revitalize downtown in new ways

Once complete, Whiting said Flagship City Commons will connect Country Fair to the Flagship City Food Hall, with goals to build a stronger and more accessible downtown.

The property used to be the site of a Greyhound bus station and an opera house, and he said they want to preserve the history of the location while also building a cultural corridor in Downtown Erie.

“We are working with the city to ensure that 5th Street from French to Peach becomes a really cool pedestrian corridor – a center for arts and culture beginning with the children’s museum, Erie Art Museum, the shops on 5th and State. Then as you come across the street we have Ascend, the food hall, this new building and its amenities, our grocery store, Dave’s Diner, really a center for arts and culture, shopping, entertainment in the district,” said Whiting.

Whiting said the goal is to complete the Flagship City Commons project by June or July of 2027.

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