W
hen McKeesport Mayor Michael
Cherepko introduced the
McKeesport Rising Project with the
city’s 2018 budget, it was presented
with visions of a resilient phoenix rising from the
blight of a tired Rust Belt town to reveal a renewed
enthusiasm for neighborhood improvements and
economic development, along with a continued
commitment to public safety.
“This image continues to serve as a striking
metaphor for any spiritual, societal, or economic
rebirth, and it is perfect for describing the type
of renaissance many McKeesporters believe is
necessary to rebuild our community,” Cherepko
wrote at that time. “Municipalities across the
Monongahela River Valley are experiencing much of
what we have here in McKeesport. In each case, local
officials are trying to rebuild whole communities
that lost their viability when the steel industry
collapsed in the 1980s. This event devastated our valley because it
was the only industry here to support our communities.”
In early 2018, Cherepko set out to gain the upper hand in
McKeesport’s battle with blight by demolishing more than 150
structures in the first phase of McKeesport Rising. That number
quickly grew to the placement of 300 blighted structures on
demolition contracts by the end of that year. Then in 2019, an
additional 150 were condemned.
McKeesport Rising continues to be promoted as a robust plan to
reduce blight, improve roads, reinforce safety, and boost the local
economy. It is no secret that blight can have a detrimental impact
on the quality of life in any community. Blight not only disheartens
residents and brings down the community’s collective morale, but
it actually breeds crime.
As the McKeesport Rising Project continues and the Cherepko
administration works to find new development initiatives for
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MCKEESPORT AREA
business, residential, and recreation projects, new partnerships
were formed in an award through the state Department of
Community and Economic Development.
SECURING NPP FUNDS
Since the grand opening of Tube City Center in February 2019,
Mayor Cherepko worked closely with the Secretary of Community
and Economic Development Dennis Davin to provide the state with
an accurate depiction of what’s happening in McKeesport. Through
tours, meetings, and presentations, Cherepko shared the vision
and progress of the McKeesport Rising Project and found funding
partners to support the state-facilitated Neighborhood Partnership
Program (NPP).
In November, the McKees Point Development Group – a 501(c)3
nonprofit organization formed in 2018 to stabilize the Penn McKee
and encourage development in downtown McKeesport – was
awarded NPP funding through the Pennsylvania Department of
Community and Economic Development from UPMC Health Plan,
Duquesne Light, First Commonwealth Bank and
Noble Environmental.
Over the course of a six-year grant period, the
McKees Point Development Group will receive
$2.7 million – annually receiving $100,000 from
UPMC Health Plan, $100,000 from Duquesne
Light, $100,000 from First Commonwealth
Bank, and $150,000 from Noble Environmental.
Throughout this timeframe, the McKees Point
Development Group will serve as the fiscal sponsor
for a downtown economic development plan,
neighborhood rehabilitation to improve the city’s
housing stock, and investments in stabilizing the
former Penn McKee Hotel – all part of Mayor Michael
Cherepko’s McKeesport Rising Project.
To date, the Redevelopment Authority of the
City of McKeesport has identified parcels in the 500
block of Fifth Avenue on the Lysle Boulevard side
that are targeted for acquisition, demolition, future