Clairton works: Real progress is coming to the former steel town – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

While Pittsburgh has done so much to bounce back from steels decline, progress in many nearby communities has been elusive. Lacking the citys health care institutions, universities and other advantages, towns along the Monongahela River, for example, have struggled to reinvent themselves. But they havent given up, as the good news out of Clairton last week showed.

After spending about 30 years as a distressed municipality under state oversight a designation it shed in 2015 Clairton is poised for an influx of investment. As the Post-Gazettes Joyce Gannon reported Friday, more than $3 million from public and private sources is expected for projects ranging from senior housing to a corner store to new single-family homes and staff to ride herd on development initiatives.

A group of officials and civic leaders has spent two years shepherding projects toward groundbreaking with the help of the Jefferson Regional Foundation, affiliated with Allegheny Health Networks Jefferson Hospital, and Economic Development South, best known for working with Route 51 corridor communities. Such collaboration is essential to ensuring that recovery plans stay on course for the long haul.

Special recognition goes to Speedway, which plans to build a gas station and store on State Street. One official said it would be the first new business in years. Other players include BNY Mellon and Highmark, which between them have committed nearly $2.9 million in donations and other investments. A nonprofit, GTECH, will work on new trails and parks a recognition that recreational amenities and healthy living are part of a new economy.

With more than 19 percent of its parcels vacant in 2014 and nearly 35 percent of them tax delinquent in 2013, according to data provided by the University of Pittsburghs University Center for Social and Urban Research, Clairton still has formidable challenges ahead. Its reputation for crime wont help. But Clairtons progress climbing out of about three decades of financial oversight alone is worth celebrating. Teamwork and tenacity appear to be paying off.

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Clairton works: Real progress is coming to the former steel town - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette