The high susceptibility and limited shear capacity of industrial reinforced concrete (RC) structures, especially those built that were not planned with seismic protections in mind, have been brought to light by recent earthquakes in Europe and around the world. This paper describes the structural improvement of an industrial reinforced concrete building that was severely damaged by the August 2016 Central Italy earthquake and that had been planned without consideration for seismic loads. The rehabilitation project was designed to capitalize on the mechanical properties, structural performance, and functional flexibility of steel, which was utilized in order to modify the global structural response of the industrial building under seismic motions. This paper demonstrates how steel, due to its versatility and compatibility with existing materials, could be particularly well-suited for the structural enhancement and preservation of twentieth-century architecture, especially in landmark reinforced concrete buildings.