Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro Announces $64 Million Investment for Economic Development and "Shovel-Ready" Sites

Economic Development Initiative Unveiled

• 🚀 Governor Josh Shapiro announced a significant economic development initiative in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, aimed at boosting the Commonwealth's competitiveness.
• 🤝 The initiative emphasizes collaboration between public and private sectors, unions, and workers to drive growth.

Pennsylvania's Economic Strategy

• 💡 The administration has implemented a four-step strategy: assembling the right team, creating a comprehensive economic development plan, increasing speed in processes, and securing more resources.
• 🎯 The economic development plan focuses on investments in energy, agriculture, robotics, manufacturing, and life sciences, with a commitment to investing in all regions: rural, urban, and suburban.
• ⏱️ Pennsylvania has improved its permitting process, moving from the bottom of the pack to the top five nationally, with a money-back guarantee for timely permit issuance.
• 📉 The Department of Environmental Protection has reduced its permit backlog by 88%, and business license issuance has been reduced from eight weeks to same-day.

Investment in "Shovel-Ready" Sites

• 💰 A new $500 million Pennsylvania Sites Fund has been established to create pad-ready industrial sites, addressing a key need identified by site selectors.
• 🌟 The first tranche of awards from the PA Sites program totals $64 million for 11 projects across the state.
• 📍 Bedford County will receive an initial $2.88 million grant to develop land for Business Park 2, extending water and sewer lines to create a pad-ready site.

Economic Impact and Recognition

• 📈 Public investments have leveraged $3.7 billion in private sector investment, creating over 5,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania.
• 🏆 Pennsylvania has been recognized as the top state in the Northeast for regional economic competitiveness by Site Selector Magazine and one of the best states to start a business by Forbes.
• 🏅 The state is also ranked among the top three for quality of life and top 10 for affordability by CNBC.

Future Outlook and Infrastructure

• 🛠️ The state plans to continue investing in its economic development toolkit, increasing speed, fostering public-private partnerships, and enhancing infrastructure.
• 🌉 A bipartisan effort is underway to pass a significant infrastructure bill, including investments in mass transit, roads, and bridges, to support economic development projects.