Pottstown Area Industrial Development, Inc. Debuts New E-Zine In Collaboration With Major Borough Stakeholders

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Roy

Momentum - One Good Things Leads to Another

WELCOME TO MOMENTUM, a quarterly publication from Partners for Success, a collaborative of organizations with the common objective of celebrating the stories that make us proud of Pottstown. We salute the residents, business owners, and other stakeholders making Pottstown better every day. In Momentum, you’ll discover stories about business development; recreation and healthy lifestyles; education; and arts and culture.

Founding Partners

To read the first edition, click here: http://www.paidinc.org/momentum.php

Scroll down to Latest Edition: Spring 2014 – Download (PDF file)

To visit PAID’s website, click here: http://www.paidinc.org/

We give two Roy’s Rants thumbs up for the collaboration between stakeholders and for getting serious about marketing Pottstown to potential businesses and investors. This is a welcome step…

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Allentown: A New Beginning

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Roy

Philadelphia’s Gallery Mall Is Ripe For Rebirth

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Roy

English: Map of Philadelphia County highlighting Center City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Has the Gallery’s time finally come – again?

Thirty-seven years after the Center City mall broke new ground in urban retailing, the Market East shopping center is anything but cutting-edge. It is tired, mismatched to its surroundings, and a drag on the wider Center City boom.

Its owner, publicly traded Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, has promised to reverse that. Just how and when, however, has been a bit hazy.

Now, there is increasing evidence that a critical mass is building and that perhaps, as promised by PREIT chief executive officer Joseph Coradino, a transformative project is near.

Lancaster County Gets Nordstrom’s East Coast Fulfillment Center With $79M Investment, 400 Jobs

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Roy

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gov. Tom Corbett announced today that Nordstrom will establish the operations of its East Coast online fulfillment center in West Donegal Township, creating 369 full-time jobs.

“Today’s announcement continues Pennsylvania’s steady economic progress with another company expanding and more jobs for our citizens,” said Corbett, in a prepared statement.

“It’s a testament to why Pennsylvania is built to advance — our keystone location, our talented and hardworking people — all contributed to Nordstrom bringing hundreds of new jobs to Lancaster County.”

Downtown Connellsville: Working Toward the Rebirth Of A City

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Roy

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Fayette County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 2008, Connellsville officials started to work on a multi-municipal plan that included South Connellsville and Connellsville Township.

The first meeting with consultants was held at the Porter Theater (which had not yet been refurbished).

The team from Mullin and Lonergan led those in attendance in an exercise that identified “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.”

Based on the discussion and elements identified that night, it was thought that a Main Street Program would be the best way to approach revitalization of the community.

Gov. Corbett’s Christmas Giveaway: $133 Million For Developers, Industry, Private Institutions

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Roy

Just in time for Christmas, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration has posted the names of 58 developers, industrial plants, corporate and nonprofit hospitals, museums, private colleges and other institutions that will share $133 million in state matching grants for favored projects across the Commonwealth. It’s the latest installment of the Redevelopment Authority Capital Program grants, a program that’s been popular with lawmakers and developers since the 1980s.

Read the list at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/Gov-Corbetts-Christmas-giveaway-133-million-for-developers.html#yZeppx98hAPGWMoJ.99

Pittsburgh-Based Firm Started Small, Grew Into A U.S. Job Creator

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Roy

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fourteen years after Chuck Sanders opened a small storefront in Bellevue providing title and settlement services to people buying houses, that single business has mushroomed into a nationwide empire of about 13 companies, with some 2,400 employees and annual revenues this year that will be in the neighborhood of $200 million.

His flagship company, Urban Lending Solutions, headquartered Downtown in the Federated Investors Tower, provides back office support servicing mortgages for major financial institutions such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and SunTrust.

New York-based Inc. magazine, which publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest growing companies in the U.S., this year ranked Urban Lending Solutions as the eighth-top job creator in the U.S. for creating 1,022 new jobs within the prior 18 months. Black Enterprise Magazine, known for its annual list of the country’s largest African-American owned firms, ranked ULS the nation’s 16th largest with 2012 revenue of $183.5 million.

Pennsylvania Plans To Court Boeing For New Factory

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Roy

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Allegheny County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pennsylvania plans to join a high-stakes competition for the chance to assemble the Boeing Co.’s new 777X jet, a competition that likely will require the players to pony up tax breaks and other economic incentives in hopes of winning.

The commonwealth intends to submit a proposal to Boeing by the deadline today in a bid to land the jetliner’s production and lure thousands of well-paying jobs from Everett, Wash.

“Any time there’s an opportunity to attract jobs and investment to the commonwealth, we’re certainly going to do that,” said Steven Kratz, spokesman for the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

But Pennsylvania hardly is alone. The competition for the assembly plant — and the 8,500 jobs it could create at its peak — is likely to be fierce. As many as 12 to 15 states received invitations from the Chicago-based jet manufacturer to bid for the plant, with the goal to start production of the 777X in 2017.

Brownfield Development Revives Hope For Hazelwood

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Roy

Locator map with the Hazlwood neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania highlighted. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hazelwood leaders don’t want the neighborhood to find itself on the wrong side of the railroad tracks separating it from the former LTV Steel Co. site along the Monongahela River.

If a $1 billion investment goes as planned, the sprawling brownfield site would become home to offices, housing, retailers and light industry.

As large machines prepare the 178 acres for development, groups such as the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, Hazelwood Initiative and ACTION-Housing Inc. are working to prepare the distressed neighborhood for growth.

“We don’t want people to just stay on the LTV site. We want them to get into the neighborhood,” said Councilman Corey O’Connor, who represents Hazelwood, where LTV had the city’s last operating steel mill.

Gov. Wolf Building, Simon Silk Mill Among 15 Easton Properties Getting Boost From State

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Roy

English: Skyline of Easton, PA from Lafayette College (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fifteen Easton properties, including the Gov. Wolf Building and Simon Silk Mill, are among those approved for state tax incentives aimed at getting the properties redeveloped, officials announced this afternoon.

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. said the properties have been granted Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone status, meaning they’d be exempt from state and local taxes for a decade.

In addition to the Easton properties, the long-abandoned Dixie Cup factory in Wilson Borough also qualified for the status, the LVEDC says in a news release.

The designation marks a significant victory for local officials and developers who have been trying to get new, and in some cases ambitious, projects off the ground.

Progress Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania revitalization and economic development success stories