The transformation of the former Cincinnati engineering works in Birmingham is due to be completed by Christmas.
It will mark the culmination of a massive regeneration project which has seen 101 new homes being built on the previously derelict site next to the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal.
Linden Homes began demolition work on the former factory site in February last year and began construction of its Cincinnati development the following month.
The work included a mammoth 24-week demolition operation and now, less than two years later, construction has commenced on the final homes at the development.
Paul Eastwood, Operations Director at Linden Homes West Midlands, has overseen the redevelopment of the 2.54 hectare site, and says the transformation has been remarkable.
He said: “Clearing the site for our Cincinnati development involved a massive demolition operation which was made all the more challenging due to the sheer scale of the factory.
“As well as the building itself, there were huge concrete basements and an underground theatre to demolish.
“We had 10 excavation machines working on the site at any one time, and yet it still took 24 weeks for the demolition work to be completed.
“By contrast, the build programme has gone extremely quickly. We started building the foundations in March 2016 and by Christmas that year had handed over 21 homes.
“In less than two years, we’ve regenerated this run-down site into a new community of 101 homes.
“The transformation has been absolutely remarkable and I think the new homes along the canal frontage look fantastic.
“We’re very proud of the development and look forward to finishing off the final homes before the end of this year.”
The Cincinnati Milling Tools factory made machinery including lathes and bore machines for businesses across the UK and around the world, employing around 2,000 people at its peak.
The purpose-built factory which backed onto the canal would have been a state-of-the-art factory in its time. Many of the materials used for the building were imported from Ohio, where the parent company was founded.
But the buildings fell into disrepair after the factory closed in 2008, following 73 years of production.
Planning permission to develop the derelict site was granted by Birmingham City Council in December 2015.
Work to regenerate the site also included the removal of a large derelict concrete footbridge which linked the factory to a car park and Kingsbury Road on the opposite side of the canal.
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