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A contract approved last week by the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County will help speed the construction of a mixed-use residential, office and industrial complex on the site of U.S. Steel's former Carrie Furnaces.

Also OK'd last week was the sale of the site of the former Braddock Medical Center, clearing the way for development of 11 new homes, 24 apartments and commercial space.

Both steps move the county "closer to redeveloping two key sites in the Mon Valley, which will result in hundreds of jobs," said Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Executive. "Our efforts will also return dozens of acres of land to the tax rolls, generating income for some of our most distressed municipalities."

The mixed-use project on the 168-acre Carrie Furnace site will encompass parts of Rankin, Swissvale, Whitaker, Munhall and the City of Pittsburgh. Under a $183,000 contract awarded last week to Independent Enterprises Inc., the site's main sewer line will be tied into the ALCOSAN system.

The authority also authorized the solicitation of bids to demolish the railroad trestle that bisects the property, enabling about 90 acres on the western side of the site to be opened for development.

Within a year, the county also will finalize plans for a flyover ramp to connect the site to the Rankin Bridge. A railroad bridge that crosses the Monongahela River will be converted for vehicular use, and will incorporate a trail to link the site to the Great Allegheny Passage on the south side of the river.

In cooperation with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the county is raising the eastern portion of the site out of the 100-year flood plain. Work already completed at the site includes environmental remediation and stormwater and water line installation. There are currently 25 acres ready for development at the site.

Allegheny County expects creation of an office-industrial park to create 1,000 jobs during the first 15 years of development. The industrial park is being developed in the shadow of the two remaining blast furnaces, which are part of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

Separately, the county Redevelopment Authority last week authorized staff to enter into a sales and redevelopment agreement with Trek Development Group, which will purchase the three-acre former site of UPMC Braddock hospital from the authority for $250,000.

UPMC donated the site to Allegheny County after it ceased operations in 2010. Trek will undertake a $20 million development that includes 11 single-family homes, 24 rental apartments, 30,000 square feet of commercial and flex-office space, and a community park, a county spokeswoman said.

(Editor's note: Written from a press release by Amie Downs, Allegheny County spokeswoman.)

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