Perkasie has been trying to make old buildings useful. The old silk factory is just one of those buildings that they are trying to put to use. Plans for this old factory building located on Ninth Street across from the Perkasie Park are to convert the building into an office complex.

The building, built in 1912, was originally a silk weaving factory. The building was added on to several times; once in 1933 and a second time sometime in the 1940's. The silk mill was then closed after World War II. After that, the factory was used for many different things.

The last manufacturer was Stainless, a company that specializes in fabricating towers (of all types). At one time when area residents would watch television or listen to the radio it was almost certain that Stainless Inc. was involved in building part of that communications structure That industry, Stainless, Inc. came to the factory in 1968. The industry was originally founded in 1946 and was located in Philadelphia where it was then known as Stainless Engineers. The company relocated many times. One such location was North Wales, PA where they are currently located. .

So whose idea was it anyway? Mr. Don Lederach worked on the project for about 1 1/2 years. According to Mr. Lederach there was a previous owner (who is no longer the owner) who did not want to do anything with it. The factory sits on a larger piece of land and is not presently used. Mr. Lederach said it was basically an eyesore to look at, so he wanted to do something with it. He then approached the Perkasie Borough Council about his idea. After several months of discussion, they partnered with the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority. The Authority has access to funds through the Department of Environmental Protection (they environmentally clean up properties). Lederach and the council then got a contract from the authority. After they got the contract, they proceeded to acquire the property from the old owner and then got a grant from the Department of Environmental Protection, among others. Lederach is proceeding to look for someone to develop the projectand help find an occupant.

So why the old building? Why not build a new one? Perkasie is trying to use a process called adaptive reuse (where you reuse old buildings). Although the building may look ugly on the outside, the building is quite solid with 18 inch thick masonry walls. Current plans are to renovate the inside and outside of the 29,000 square foot building as well as add a 5,000 square foot addition and a 125 space parking lot.

The job will certainly not be easy. The process will take about three years.There have been a lot of years of neglect for this factory, which makes a lot to clean up. Getting people into town will be the first phase. Mr. Lederach hopes the factory businesses will be the nitch of town, although he assures us that Perkasie will never be a Montgomeryville, nor does he want it to be. With all of the hard work and planning that has gone into this project, Perkasie should expect a successful building in the third quarter of 2003.