Gadling

Over the years there have been factories built to make everything from candles to automobiles. As time marched on, new technology, better manufacturing methods or simply a change in demand rendered once-bustling factories obsolete and forced their closure. Once the lifeblood of a community, abandoned factories remain as a testament to what once was a vibrant business. Now, left for time to take its toll, many of these former backbone operations that helped forge today’s economy sit silently.

UsefulCommunityDevelopment.org has some ideas for what might be done with these aging structures.

“Creative re-use of abandoned factories in your community can mean that an empty industrial building or complex for which there is no real estate market can live again as lofts, artist studios, unusual retail space, or offices for a marketing firm or other creative business.” the organization says on it’s website.

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