Business View Magazine | October 2019

339 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2019 MCKEESPORT , PENNSYLVANI A torn down, streets being paved, equipment purchases, and other necessary updates so we don’t have to worry about fixing them in the near future. We’re very excited with this initiative, but the progress really started six or seven year ago.” At one end of the city, where the U. S. Steel mill used to be, the RIDC Industrial Center (Regional Industrial Development Corporation) is now the location of businesses from a variety of sectors. A few years ago, McKeesport was one of the first of only 12 permits given across the state of Pennsylvania for a medical marijuana production facility. And the industrial park is now the home of Pure Penn LLC– a cannabis producer that started with 40 to 50 jobs and has tripled in size. They’re now expecting to double or triple their workforce to well over 100 employees in the next year and a half. Also in the RIDC park, Dura-Bond Industries – a company that manufactures and coats pipeline products for Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region. Dura-Bond came in with about 100 jobs, looking to get to 200. Duquesne Light Company is a utility Cherepko admits, “In the 1980s, when the final steel mill closed, that’s when things really started going downhill in the city. From a population of 55,000, we’re now down to just below 20,000, and it’s been a real struggle. You’re faced with decreasing revenues and ever-increasing expenditures as your tax base continues to dwindle. We hit our rock bottom a few years back but, over the last six to seven years, we’ve put a good foundation in place and we’re now moving forward. It’s a case where you have to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. But things are happening here from the development standpoint.” Among its current challenges, the city is faced with a fair amount of blight after people left their homes, and, also, infrastructure needs, such as roads that haven’t been paved for years due to budget constraints. The answer? “Last year we kicked off a “McKeesport Rising” initiative,” says Cherepko. “And we allocated money from the sale of our sewage authority to put towards the concept, which would be infrastructure improvements – 300 to 400 homes and buildings