Ford City, PA

Located some 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny 

River, Ford City, Pennsylvania is an example of how a community can 

rebound from a severe economic blow. Only a few years after the loss of 

an industrial institution that was the borough’s largest employer, Ford City is 

in the process of creating new commercial, industrial, and recreational space 

that will be home not only to new industry, but green space and an 8,000 

foot walking trail along the river, a public meeting house, and a museum 

celebrating Ford City’s industrial heritage. 

The company that left Ford City in 1993 was the same company that helped 

build the city more than 100 years earlier. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Industries, 

Inc. (PPG) established itself in Ford City in 1887 and at one time employed 

5,000 workers and was the largest plate glass factory in the world. But 

through a slow decline that started in the mid 1960s—attributed to shrinking 

markets and labor disagreements—PPG reduced operations and finally, in 

1993, shut down entirely. By that time nearly 45 percent of Ford City’s 

population (approximately 6,200 residents during its heyday) had left the 

area. A statue of the town’s founder, PPG’s “father of plate glass” John B. 

Ford, that once surveyed the bustling PPG plant, found itself gazing at 57 

acres of idle property representing Ford City’s only developable land. 

Seven acres of this land came under ownership by Ford City in 1999. This 

seven-acre parcel had been sold to another company in 1981, who then 

leased it to a third company, AMCO, for a foundry operation. AMCO filed 

for bankruptcy in 1995 and abandoned the site, leaving behind three empty 

buildings and unknown levels of contamination from more than a century of 

industrial uses. While PPG entered the state’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, 

and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) 

performed $225,000 worth of preliminary assessments on the former AMCO 

property, additional assessments and sampling were required to confirm the 

Pennsylvania DEP’s findings and develop a cleanup plan. 

EPA’s Brownfields Pilot, awarded to Ford City in 1998, enabled more detailed 

assessments of the former AMCO property, discovering arsenic and lead in 

the soil and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the groundwater. In 

Ford City Restores a Former

Industrial Site, and Itself 

JUST THE FACTS: • In addition to assessments, the 

Brownfields Pilot assisted Ford City in 

ongoing negotiations with PPG to turn 

over the former plant property to the 

town, following the company’s own 

environmental investigation. 

• With more than $1 million required for 

cleanup and more than $4 million 

estimated to restore existing buildings 

on just one portion of the site, Ford City 

enlisted the support of several 

partners—both federal and state—to 

move forward in creating the new 

Heritage and Technology Park (HAT). 

• When complete, the HAT will feature 

more than 90,000 square feet of 

commercial, office, and light industrial 

space, and will house a business 

incubator, a video conference/distance 

learning center, and a museum paying 

tribute to Ford City’s 105 years of glass 

making. 

Pittsburgh Plate Glass 

Industries, Inc. (PPG) established itself 

in Ford City in 1887 and at one time 

employed 5,000 workers and was the 

largest plate glass factory in the world. 

By the time the company ceased 

operations in 1993—following a 

decline that had started in the mid 

1960s—nearly 45 percent of Ford 

City’s population had left the area. The 

57 acres that were home to the empty 

glass plant represented Ford City’s 

only developable land. 

continued 
CONTACTS:

For more information contact 

US EPA Region 3: (215) 814-3132 

Or visit EPA’s Brownfields Web site at: 

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ 

addition to assessments, the Pilot assisted Ford City in ongoing negotiations with PPG to turn over the 

remaining 50 acres to the town, following the company’s own environmental investigation. 

In October 2002, the deed for the remaining 50 acres was transferred to Ford City 

Borough, providing the town with the entire 57-acre site for cleanup and 

redevelopment. 

Ford City Borough created the Greater Ford City Community Development 

Corporation (GFCCDC) in 1999 to administer grant funding and develop 

brownfields. 

participation in determining the site’s reuse. The result was a plan for the 

new Heritage and Technology Park (HAT), which will feature more than 90,000 

square feet of commercial, office, and light industrial space within PPG’s former 

machine shop. The HAT will house a business incubator, a video conference/ 

distance learning center, and a museum paying tribute to Ford City’s 105 years of 

glass making. 

plans also include a 3,000-square-foot office/public meeting house, installation of 8,000 feet of 

walking trails along the river, a new parking area, and a wall to protect against river flooding. As a result 

of site restoration efforts, the Borough now has its first ever green space along the river. 

With more than $1 million required for cleanup and more than $4 million estimated to restore existing 

buildings on the seven-acre, former AMCO site alone, Ford City needed the support of several partners— 

both federal and state—to move forward in creating the HAT. A grant from the U.S. Department of 

Housing and Urban Development’s Economic Development Initiative provided $1.5 million for 

redevelopment of the three former AMCO buildings. The Economic Development Administration 

contributed $581,000 to rebuild the former foundry building. 

of a capital budget award. 

industrial heritage museum. And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers donated approximately $1 million in 

services to restore the flood prevention wall, install a new parking area, and create a 500-foot walking 

trail. A match of $265,000 was contributed from the PA DEP for the river wall project. 

Cleanup and restoration has been finished on the 30,000-square-foot, former ARCO Foundry building. 

The building is now home to OEM Shades, a window blind manufacturer with the potential to create as 

many as 125 jobs by the end of its 5-year lease period. T’s second 

building, a 60,000 square-foot structure that is now in the design stages for reuse. tartup of the HAT is 

the first step in a major restoration for a town that less than a decade ago watched its hopes for prosperity 

vanish. 

Because of these efforts, Ford City was adopted by the Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board to demonstrate 

successful partnerships between the federal government and grass roots revitalization efforts. 

was also nominated as a “Rebuild America” community model by the Department of Energy, which 

provided technical expertise to ensure that the HAT’s buildings would be energy efficient. 

Quarterly public meetings were held to allow community 

The 50-acre site has space for 10 to 14 new companies. Redevelopment 

The state contributed $3 million in the form 

The Steel Industry Heritage Corporation put in $75,000 toward creation of the 

Cleanup is also complete at the HA

S

The city 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA 500-F-03-032 

Ford City, Pennsylvania and Emergency May 2003 

Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/