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Breathing New Life Into Weirton

About 1,100 acres in Weirton where thousands of men and women once produced steel may have a productive future, as a result of a transaction we reported last week. In it, the Frontier Group of Companies purchased the property from ArcelorMittal.

As many as 15,000 people once worked in Weirton Steel facilities on the site and others nearby. But the company’s collapse several years ago eliminated nearly all those jobs. Now, only about 900 people work at the ArcelorMittal tin plate operation in Weirton.

It is highly improbable that the old steel mill will be replaced by a new one. In fact, most, if not all, the steelmaking equipment and buildings on the property will be removed.

That should open up a very attractive site for new development. It offers a large tract of relatively flat land with access to rail, highway and river transportation. Its proximity to the planned ethane cracker plant in Monaca, Pa., as well as to another possible at Dilles Bottom, have been cited as factors in favor of redevelopment.

Frontier has a good track record in that regard. The company owns the old Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel property at Mingo Junction. Instead of merely using equipment and buildings there for scrap, Frontier sold part of it to ACERO Junction, which is expected to resume making steel at the site.

Redeveloping the Weirton property will not be easy, however. A variety of challenges, including environmental issues, must be solved by Frontier.

That is where state and federal government come into the picture.

Weirton officials already are working to ensure city-owned infrastructure serving the land is adequate for it. They also are streamlining the zoning process.

What can Charleston and Washington do? In view of the fact the land is privately owned, what should state and federal officials do?

If environmental cleanup assistance can be made available, it should be provided. If funding for additional infrastructure, such as access roads, is necessary, it too, should be found.

In short, whatever state and federal officials can do to speed repurposing of the old mill property, they should undertake. Breathing new life into Weirton should be considered a priority.

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