JOHNSTOWN — It's hard to find a silver lining after a car crashes into the front of a dilapidated building you're trying to restore.
But for John Burley, head of Everything Ice, the destruction was an opportunity: He didn't like the way the offices in the front of the building were set up anyway.
Everything Ice manufactures ice rinks that are sent around the world with "made in Johnstown" written on the side. They're expanding the company by moving manufacturing and their main offices to the Penstan Plumbing building on Horner Street, just over the river from Greater Johnstown High School.
The expansion, Burley hopes, will let them hire more people.
"If we had all the quality people, we could be doing $20 million a year instead of eight," Burley told 6 News.
The inside of the building, which is about 30,000 square feet, is dilapidated and in need of repair, along with electricity and heat.
But, where one person might see an empty warehouse — or an empty city — Burley sees potential.
"There are a lot of good, hardworking people in Johnstown, and, frankly, I think that through good leadership and a little forward-thinking vision, we can bring this town back where it used to be," Burley said.
Everything Ice is hoping to start full-time production at the Penstan Plumbing building this summer.
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