 There's nothing like the proposed demolition of a beloved property to motivate a community. For the town of Easton, Massachusetts, that property was the Ames Shovel Works, a granite walled relic of New England's industrial age. As one of the first assembly line facilities in the country, this complex once employed more than 500 workers and made more than one million shovels per year for projects around the globe. The site also forms the heart of a national register listed historic district, so when drastic redevelopment threatened in 2007, the town rallied to save it. Local leaders and community groups searched for a more sympathetic owner, while the National Trust listed the complex among America's 11 most endangered historic places for 2009. Boston developer Beacon Communities drew support from Easton's residents, and in 2010 they voted to form a public-private partnership to help fund the project. The agreement included a commitment to preserving the building's integrity in order to obtain federal and state tax credits. Beacon and the architectural firm Prelwitz-Chelinski Associates worked closely with the National Park Service to convert the shovel works into a residential complex, while respecting its existing architecture. The team also stabilized the structures and created 113 residential units, 34 of which qualify as affordable housing within the Shovel Works 10 buildings. What's more, the rehab physically reconnects Ames Shovel Works to Easton by restoring long-lost sight lines to the surrounding streets. As a result, the site has once again become an economic driver for historic Northeaston Village. It has restored an architecturally astounding historic site, returned beautiful stone buildings to the community, provided homes for people from all walks of life, and helped knit the neighborhood back together.