Economy
Bethlehem Steel's Redevelopment: Winners and Losers in Public-Private Partnerships
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When asked if anyone could save Bethlehem Steel, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, famously said, "I don’t think Christ could have."
The industrial giant died slowly over decades, leaving sprawling facilities behind in municipalities around the eastern United States. Not even the company's hometown plant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was spared, closing for good in 1995. Bethlehem Steel's demise meant the city was left with over 1,500 acres of vacant railroads, offices, and factories along the Lehigh Canal.