A Negley Avenue extension road and bridge would be part of a “universal street” carrying vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic from Butler’s Island neighborhood to restaurants and outdoor gathering places in Bantam Plaza, which would be located next to the shops and restaurants in the renovated Bantam Building.

The rest of the 50-acre former AK Steel Plant 2 industrial plant site would have new multistory mixed use buildings containing commercial space, apartments and parking, and water tanks and a tower, all decorated with murals.

The Island would have medium-priced homes for the young, recent college graduates working in the 250 to 350 newly created jobs at the site.

In addition, pizza shops and other small businesses would open in neighboring Lyndora in Butler Township to cater to the workers — if the plan envisioned for redeveloping the site comes to fruition.

The fate of the plan hinges on whether five light manufacturing businesses come to an agreement with property owner Certa, a Cincinnati, Ohio, company specializing in redeveloping old industrial sites, to open or expand their operations to the former plant site.

Officials won’t identify the five businesses even though some of them currently have operations in the county.

However, the businesses have signed nonbinding letters of intent that give Certa, the county and the Community Development Corporation of Butler County, which are trying to facilitate the sale, time to negotiate and design the project.

“We are close to deals,” Jake Bamberger, managing member of Certa, said Friday. “We’re going back and forth right now with two — one smaller and one larger.”

The smaller manufacturer would create 25 jobs and the larger business would create more than 100 jobs, he said.

The outcome of a study on the amount of electric power available at the site and an application for a state grant for site preparation work are the last hurdles that have to be cleared before a deal gets done.

Bamberger said he hopes to hear in the next week or two if the project will receive a state grant to remove the concrete foundation from the old plant and use the material for roads and fill.

“If we get the grant next week or the following week, we’ll start site prep,” Bamberger said. “That’s all we’re waiting for is the grant. By springtime we would break ground on the building.”

If the ongoing study of the power available at the site has positive results, Bamberger said he would hope to have a commitment from one of the two manufacturers in the next 30 days.

“We have proposals on the table,” Bamberger said.

He said he is thankful to state Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, for assisting with the grant application and Joe Saeler, executive director of the CDC, for help designing the project.

Saeler predicts deals will be made and construction of the first two of the five buildings needed by the prospective businesses will begin in the spring. The CDC is paying for the design of the buildings.

“Takes a lot of work and money to redevelop old industrial sites,” Saeler said.

The five businesses are committed to expanding or opening in the county, said Mark Gordon, the county’s chief of economic development and planning. He worked as a manager for AK Steel for more than 30 years before joining the county.

Ample electric service and railroad tracks designed to carry heavy commercial loads remain at the plant site and make it attractive to manufacturing businesses, he said.

He said the county used federal grant money designated for redeveloping former industrial, or brownfield sites, to prepare the redevelopment plan that lays out a vision of what the finished product could look like.

Combined, the five businesses would create 250 to 350 jobs that could inspire people or developers to buy and renovate homes or create loft homes in the Island area to sell to the people who land those jobs and other young people, he said.

“We need homes for young people starting out. Homes under $250,000,” Gordon said. “In Cranberry, you pay $500,000 to $1 million. Young college graduates without debt couldn’t afford the mortgage.”

A walking or biking trail from the Island to Butler County Community College is among the ideas being developed.

“We’re working on a plan for the Island. We want to keep young people and college grads,” Gordon said.

Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy has been hoping to see a redevelopment plan for the old plant site for a long time.

“I’m excited about it. It’s been a long time coming,” Dandoy said. “It would be a big boon to the community. It shows there’s interest in the community.”

The site’s connection to Butler Township is part of the overall redevelopment plan.

The township is in the process of developing new athletic fields on property it purchased adjacent to the Pullman Center Business Park, which borders the plant site, and is planning to realign the intersection of Whitestown Road, Hansen Avenue and Armco Drive.

The new intersection will connect Lyndora and the plant site, and the fields should help spur interest in residential development in Lyndora.

“Any industry moving into our area will definitely be a plus,” said Dave Zarnick, president of the Butler Township commissioners.

The redevelopment of the Hansen-Whitestown intersection and the recreation complex will fit in nicely, he said.

“I’m excited to see this come to fruition. It was only a matter of time for the site to be redeveloped. It will be a big boost for this area,” he said.

He said work on the field should be completed by the end of next summer.