LACKAWANNA, N.Y. — It's hard to forget the devastating, massive fire that ripped through structures of the old Bethlehem Steel plant complex back in November of 2016.
But is anything really in the works to replace the damaged frame that was left behind? 2 On Your Side checked with Lackawanna city officials and sought information from the owners.
It dominated the skyline and took four days to control. The blaze from over five years ago gutted some of the industrial buildings of the old steel plant property, and now what is left behind is some of the charred steel skeleton still visible. That is even as Erie County and the city try to push economic revitalization in the Commerce Park on the other side of Route 5.
Mayor Annette Iafallo says she gets plenty of phone calls about this privately owned site, which is adjacent to residential streets.
"I'd like to see the building down," she said. "It's something that's not pleasant to the eyes for the neighbors in Lackawanna."
What realistically can the city do to try to spur something happening there with that property?
"We could try to monitor the progress of the cleanup and what goes there," Iafallo said. "But like you said, we really can't do too much because it is under private ownership. But we want to make sure that the property compliments what's happening across the street at the industrial park, so we'll try to stay on top of it best we can."
The city says owner Great Lakes Industrial Development, and listed firm partners brothers David and Dennis Franjione and Robert Zuchlewski, followed fire cleanup regulations and city codes, and are also current on property taxes.
Through a spokesman, they put out this statement:
“As previously announced, we are working to locate a solar array on the northwest portion of our property. The effects of the pandemic, notably supply chain issues and various procedural delays, did slow down the project, but we are moving ahead. In fact, we have spent $1.1 million on engineering and equipment for the solar array project to date, and already have the PV panels and component parts onsite. We expect to begin site preparation work by mid-summer, and look forward to the safe completion of the array installation in early 2023.
While preparations for the solar array continue, we recently completed a major refurbishment of the former water treatment warehouse building at the site, including environmental cleanup and a reconfigured layout. The result was a significantly improved building that is now being leased. There will be other projects and new announcements for the site in the near future that will continue the significant redevelopment work we have completed over the past 12 years.”
The City's economic development team is waiting for details before the solar panel approval is granted.
The statement made no specific reference as to when or how any remaining damaged structures would come down.
The mayor did speak collectively about ownership, noting that "we try to keep in contact with them often and try to rush the process so that they do move forward. Like I said, I'm hoping that that building comes down. That is an eyesore."
Meanwhile, a negligence lawsuit, disputed by the firm, is proceeding against Great Lakes Industrial Development on behalf of families who claim they were injured by the thick smoke and had property damage.