Steel industry conglomerate ArcelorMittal Plate is ironing out a deal to transfer two old Lukens Steel buildings to the National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum, and the resurgence of community history could spark a modern industrial revolution for the struggling Coatesville economy, according to a Daily Local News report.

Transforming those vacant historic artifacts into a visitors center and steel-making exhibition hall “will attract visitors and shine a light on what the city could potentially offer,” Brandywine Health Foundation President and CEO Frances Sheehan said in the article. “There’s a tremendous heritage to this community, and the challenge in redevelopment efforts in any community are to develop projects that are organic to the community.”

While Coatesville longs for a fresh wave of business development — particularly around a proposed new train station — the VISTA 2025 visioning process of the Chester County Economic Development Council revealed that the expansion of community history is equally valued by members of the community.

Read more about the shuttered 60,000-square-foot relic of the past and the effort to transfer the four acres upon which it sits in the Daily Local News here.