There has always been a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to Robert Moltoni's plans for Ambridge.

Mr. Moltoni, an Australian businessman, went public in 2005 about his plan to tear down rusting factories and rebuild 22 square blocks of the town's northern end as part of a $60 million, 60-acre mixed-use plan. About three months later, voters used the primary elections to eject a group of council incumbentsthat had been working with him, replacing it with a cadre of skeptics.

More than three years later, many of the factories have been razed, and the bulldozers keep rolling. The business park which is part of Mr. Moltoni's plan has a substantial anchor in Centria Inc., and Beaver County is building a new emergency services center on the site.

The skeptical attitude, however, has resisted the wrecking ball.

"People say good things are coming, and we wait years and years and nothing happens," said Bill Maslunik, the broker at Valley Realty and the one truly local real estate agent left in town.

"I think where a lot of people's heads are here, they want to see something go up before they'll believe it."

Such negativity may be natural in Beaver County, which was staggered by the death of the steel industry a quarter-century ago. It may also be fed by the promises of Mr. Moltoni's plan: a bustling, upscale village center transforming hardscrabble Ambridge into a suburban gem.

And it probably doesn't help that those talking about the plans -- Mr. Moltoni's partner, Bill Sutton, of New Brighton, and officials from the borough, county and state -- are people with a vested interest in seeing it succeed.

Brad Dornish, of Economy, however, is free of influences when he looks at Ambridge. A real estate lawyer, investor and leader of an investors' group, he has only one simple question: Can he make money there?

His answer is a resounding "yes."

"My new projects are in Ambridge precisely because of Moltoni," Mr. Dornish said. "The Moltoni project, by itself, is going to reshape Ambridge."

It's not just talk: Mr. Dornish recently bought and renovated an apartment building in the town's historic district, a block and a half from part of the Moltoni property. The building, where the Harmonists of Old Economy once made wine barrels , cost him $35,000.

"It will be worth much, much more than that once it's next to this incredible new project," he said.

Mr. Dornish said he is negotiating over two other Ambridge buildings, and his investors' group, ACRE, of Beaver County, is busy gathering information on Mr. Moltoni's plans "so we can benefit from riding their coattails."

The underlying concept, Mr. Dornish said, is simple.

"In Western Pennsylvania, you don't see tremendous appreciation in real estate values uniformly," he said, "but you do see tremendous appreciation when you invest adjacent to exciting developments."

The trick, then, is recognizing developments that are going to succeed.

"It starts with a major private developer," Mr. Dornish said, one experienced enough to make good choices and stable enough to see them through financially.

The next component, he said, is cooperative government.

"Without it, you can't get facade grants, tax-increment financing, other help," he said. "Without it, you can't really push to the next level."

Ambridge revamped its zoning to accommodate the Moltoni project before that 2005 election, and the councilskeptics elected that year eventually were converted; Mr. Sutton has repeatedly praised the borough's helpful stance. The county, meanwhile, has pursued and administered a number of grants, and locating the 911 center there is a huge vote of confidence.

The final aspect, Mr. Dornish said, is how the development connects to the community. He likes the way the Moltoni project is "integrated into the heart of Ambridge," and thinks its residential component -- upscale townhouses and condominiums -- will be key.

"It's going to bring in a new middle to upper middle class group close to retail stores and light-industrial areas," he said. He sees that group revitalizing the Merchant Street business district, especially in the historic district, and also connecting with the high school and borough building on 11th Street.

All of which leaves one natural question: Why is Mr. Dornish giving his secrets away? If more people get interested in Ambridge real estate, won't it just drive up prices on the properties he wants?

He had a simple answer.

"There are 100 buildings that have wonderful potential in the area of the Moltoni project," he said. "I can't begin to take advantage of them all."

Mr. Maslunik, for his part, said that while he hopes Mr. Dornish is right, he is certainly not seeing any evidence in the real estate market. In fact, he said, "Values are way down with all the foreclosures, and there are a whole lot more out there that the banks haven't acted on yet. It's going to get worse before it gets better."

Perhaps, he said, local people will get more optimistic "once the dirt flies a little more."

And if things do start happening, he said, "hopefully some of these investors will call me."