Not so long ago, a massive coke plant in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood was coughing out smoke and ash. Now the area is fired up with a visionary new initiative. “Mill 19” redevelops a quarter-mile-long building into a vibrant, ecologically friendly 306,000 sq. ft. mixed-use complex.

The project has been spearheaded by the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC). Phase One (2017) consisted of 95,000 sq. ft. of leasable flex-office space with Carnegie Mellon University as an anchor tenant.

The initial $43.4 million phase will create approximately 95,000 sq. ft. of leasable flex-office space for small growing technology and technology-related industries. Carnegie Mellon University recently became the development’s anchor tenant, signing a lease for nearly 59,000 sq. ft. of space that is home to Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) and Manufacturing Futures Initiative (MFI).

It’s the first step toward creating nearly 800 permanent full-time jobs and more than 500 construction jobs in the neighborhood. It is also expected to spur the redevelopment of the remainder of the site and attract more than a billion dollars’ worth of investment in the low-income community.

The initiative was brought to life with a $13.5 million in NMTC financing from PNC.