Tube City Center
City reinvents Daily News building
as hub for business, innovation
T
he City of McKeesport is proud to
celebrate the grand opening of
the Tube City Center for Business
and Innovation, formerly The Daily
News building at 409 Walnut Street, as a
centerpiece for downtown development.
“I would like to focus on the hope
that is beginning to resonate through
the heart of McKeesport’s downtown –
beginning with investors and tenants of
Tube City Center, and reaching all of our
community stakeholders, who are working
in unique ways toward positive growth,”
Mayor Michael Cherepko said. “Countless
improvements have been made to the
Lysle Boulevard corridor in terms of
business development and infrastructure
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MCKEESPORT AREA
improvements, and Tube City Center is
proof that there’s more to come.”
With a generous building donation by
Trib Total Media, the City of McKeesport
was able to apply a private grant award,
state funding, and the McKeesport Rising
budget to provide unique office space to
tenants including the District Attorney
Mon Valley Support Center, the Center for
Media Innovation at Point Park University,
Tube City Community Media, the Mon
Valley Independent, and Flashover Fire
Apparatus & Equipment Co.
The prospect doesn’t end with Tube
City’s current tenants. The building has
space for everything from industrial
storage to executive offices and
everything in between, including
business incubators and a museum of
Daily News memorabilia dating back to
the late 1800s. In fact, the possibilities
aren’t confined to the building itself.
State Sen. James R. Brewster, who
facilitated much of Tube City Center’s
development, took the project one
step further with the approval of nearly
$3 million in PennDOT multi-modal
funds to enhance The Great Allegheny
Passage and repair the Lysle Boulevard
Parking Garage. This multi-million-dollar
project will serve Tube City Center’s
tenants and customers while supporting
McKeesport’s role as a regional hub for
recreation – drawing traffic to the Marina
at McKees Point and the local trail system.
“We aggressively sought state funding
to help the city transform its downtown,
tie-in new development with an
expansion of the trail, enhance tourism,
and rehabilitate nearby parking to attract
more visitors to the City,” Brewster said.
“This is incredibly exciting news for
the region. The expansion of the trail,
coupled with the new energy and activity
at the center – including excellent access
to nearby parking – creates even more
commercial opportunities in the City.”
Mayor Cherepko said the multi-modal
grant will allow his administration to
accomplish economic development
goals and investment in McKeesport’s
downtown. He thanked Gov. Tom Wolf
and Senator Brewster for seeing value
in the City of McKeesport’s ongoing
initiatives, “as we bring back The Daily
News building as a focal point of our
downtown and push to revitalize
McKeesport as a destination within the
Mon Valley.”