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Robert Beynon and Charles Hammel III can't wait for November.

That's when the first tenants are expected to move into the Cork Factory, a $60 million, 295-loft apartment complex in the former Armstrong Cork complex in the Strip District.

For Beynon, a commercial real estate broker, and Hammel, owner of a trucking company, the wait will end 10 years of trying to convert three historic buildings into a modern apartment complex, and end more than 20 years of other failed efforts.

Maggie Hall has leased a one-bedroom with den apartment and plans to move in before the end of the year.

"I'm excited about the Cork Factory. And I'm excited to come to Pittsburgh to live," said Hall, 55, a resident of O'Hara for the past 20 years.

"The Strip District is my favorite part of town. From my apartment I will see the (Allegheny) river that I grew up watching in Warren County, where my father was the fish warden," she said.

She also selected the Cork Factory because it will include a marina on the riverfront and walking trails. It's close to her job at the state Department of Environmental Protection office at Washington's Landing so she can save money on gasoline. And it's close to her favorite Irish pub, Harp & Fiddle.

"And I'm extremely happy that I will live in a national historic landmark," she said.

The buildings were designated landmarks in 2004 because they were designed by noted Pittsburgh architect Frederick Osterling.

The Cork Factory, on Railroad Street between 23rd and 24th Streets, has three model apartments open. Available are studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, starting at $900 monthly.

"Rentals have been good, and we are ahead of schedule, with over 40 leases as of mid-August," Beynon said.

Beynon and Hammel purchased an adjacent marina where apartment dwellers can dock their boats. The marina is scheduled to be re-opened next year.

"Over the years, the credit for this project goes to Chuck Hammel for his ... determination to get it done," Beynon said.

The two bought the site in 1996 for just over $1 million at a bankruptcy sale from its former owners, Bert Slutsky and Barney Silverman.

Since then, they contracted with two developers who sought to develop the site but whose efforts failed because of lack of financing.

But when Daniel McCaffery Interests, of Chicago, joined them in 2004, the project finally got under way.

Hammel says the project has been difficult.

"Your design has to meet with Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission approvals. Second, this is a huge site. It's expensive, and it's hard to even get firm pricing for projections," he said.

The major financiers are from outside the area. "Local lenders didn't believe in it. McCaffery has been wonderful to work with. They're not scared of Pittsburgh," he said.

One plus has been the historic designation, which created the opportunity for tax credits. About $8.5 million was raised when The Sherwin-Williams Co., of Cleveland, purchased the credits.

Hammel credits Beynon, of Beynon & Co., for his real estate expertise. "I'm in the trucking business (Pitt-Ohio Express). Bob knows real estate, and he was very important to get us introduced (to McCaffrey). Bob knew the people," he said.

Most of the $60 million cost of the project is private money, said Robert Rubinstein, director of economic development for the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. Public funding to date has been less than 5 percent of the total, and those funds are used for public facilities, he said.

The state provided $1.5 million to help build the parking garage and rebuild the wall along the river. The city, through the URA, provided $800,000 for roadwork and the riverwalk, Rubenstein said.

Thomas Cummings, URA's director of housing, said, "It's important for the city to have many types of housing to attract people to city living and to attract new residents into the area."

He believes that because the Cork Factory is located on the far end of the Strip, "really on the edge of Downtown, this will provide for spin-offs, new restaurants, new shops."

Thomas M. Armstrong started the Armstrong Cork Co. in 1860 when he joined with John D. Glass to open a one-room shop at Smithfield and Diamond (Forbes) streets, Downtown, carving bottle stoppers from cork by hand.

The Strip District factory opened in 1901 with an addition built in 1913. By 1930, it employed 1,300 people. By the time the factory closed in 1974, employment had dwindled to about 300.

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