The decaying Bethlehem Steel ovens and abandoned engine and boiler houses along the hundreds of acres on Route 5 in Lackawanna remind passing motorists every day of the region’s decline.

But local leaders see the opposite. They see unmatched potential.

“This property represents one of the most marketable pieces of industrial property in all of North America,” said Deputy County Executive Maria Whyte. “And that is not a small claim to make.”

The county has signed a purchase agreement, after years of negotiations, to take control of nearly 150 acres of remediated Bethlehem Steel property before the end of the year. The first 60 acres are expected to be transferred to county control before the end of the month. Within five years, county leaders envision roads, waterlines, lighting, rail spurs and high-speed internet service. And within a decade, they imagine private businesses occupying an industrial campus that propels advanced manufacturing and green technology.

This is not the first time the Bethlehem Steel property has been reimagined. Redevelopment plans for the 1,100-acre steel site date back to at least 1987, when leaders said a harborfront with a marina, shoreline recreation and “related waterfront development” could be built on the property.