Aliquippa, PA — Continuing his commitment to creating good jobs and attracting growing industries to Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf visited Aliquippa today. The Beaver County community has received more than $11 million in state funding during the governor’s term to encourage business development that will strengthen the regional economy and benefit working families.

“Over the course of my administration, I have been committed to making investments in towns and cities across the commonwealth—and Aliquippa is a great example of the benefits that communities can realize through strategic planning and support,” said Gov. Wolf. “These continued investments will help improve quality of life for all Pennsylvanians and ensure that our commonwealth remains the best place in the nation to live, work, and play.”

The governor visited the East End Development Site in Aliquippa to see how state investments have helped the city to remove blighted properties and prepare the land near a Route 51 interchange for future business development and prepare to capitalize on the Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex that Shell is constructing in the Beaver County.

The governor was joined by representatives from the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), Mayor Dwan Walker, City Manager Sam Gill, President, Beaver County Corporation for Economic Development Lew Villotti, Executive Director of PennDOT District 11 Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, and others to view the progress of various local development projects.

The Wolf Administration has invested more than $11 million in Aliquippa through various funding programs over the past five years, of which more than $7.7 million will support the East End Development Site.

“The state programs have helped usher in a renaissance in the city of Aliquippa,” said Mayor Dwan Walker. “We are making a transition into a new Aliquippa thanks to Governor Wolf and his administration. The Governor and his team believe in the possibility of what Aliquippa will be and we are so grateful.”

Some of the investments made in Aliquippa to date include:

• Grant and low-interest loan financing to perform environmental site assessment and remediation work at former industrial sites through the Industrial Sites Reuse Program.
• Funding through the Blight Remediation Program to assist with blight remediation.
• $7 million to reconfigure the Route 51 interchange adjacent to the East End Development site through the TIIF program.
• $72,500 in Act 47 funding to support Aliquippa in its redevelopment efforts.
• $365,000 in Keystone Communities funding to demolish commercial buildings at the East End Development site.
• $500,000 to make pedestrian and vehicular safety improvements to main corridor on Fifth Avenue through the Multi-Modal Transportation Program.
• $140,233 to complete site preparation and clearance on the Bricks site project.
• $25,000 through the Municipal Assistance Program to update land use regulations including the zoning ordinance.
• More than $2.4 million in Neighborhood Partnership Funding via donation from BNY Mellon to fund the redevelopment of Aliquippa.

“PennDOT is very excited to work with the city and Beaver County to make vital infrastructure and safety improvements to enhance the gateway to Aliquippa and invite future economic and transportation growth,” said Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, PennDOT District Executive.

“Support from the commonwealth’s economic development funding programs and the investment of resources from the various agencies has had an enormous impact on the Aliquippa community and has moved the City closer to a healthy and sustainable exit from Act 47,” added Act 47 Coordinator Deborah Grass.

For more information about the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit the DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of our agency news on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lyndsay Kensinger, Governor’s Office, ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov Casey Smith, DCED, casesmith@pa.gov

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