McKeesport, Pennsylvania

When you come into McKeesport on E. Fifth Avenue, you will see a lot of buildings that are new or have been renovated. Dunkin’ Donuts came in a couple years ago and is doing extremely well. Pennzoil has expanded multiple times.” In the Christy Park business district, a new traffic signal was installed at the intersection of Walnut Street and State Route 48. “There’s a strip mall type of development that has been in the works for years at the end of that,” says Cherepko, “and now that we have this traffic signal, it will make the retail/commercial spaces accessible. We already have the intersection open three ways, and we hope to have the fourth way into the development completed in coming months. That area is in close proximity to Olympia Shopping Center, which is in both McKeesport and our neighboring community of Versailles and brings a lot of people to town. The connection between that plaza and the Christy Park corridor is ripe for development.” Three years ago, the downtown core would have been considered as one of the last areas to come back. But amazing progress is happening now. The former Daily News building, renamed the Tube City Center to reflect the city’s industrial history of producing steel tubes, has several tenants including Point Park University’s Center for Media Innovation, Tube City Community Media, local newspaper the Mon Valley Independent, as well as a regional office of the Allegheny County District Attorney, and Flashover Fire Apparatus and Equipment Co. Bids are going out to tender for a grant-funded rehabilitation of the adjacent parking garage, and construction is slated for completion this year. Also downtown, the Port Authority of Allegheny County is investing millions to overhaul its transportation center. Across the street from Tube City Center, the People’s Building is now in the hands of Stark Development for MCKEESPORT , PENNSYLVANI A