State touts impact of funding

Gov. Ed Rendell's $2.3 billion economic stimulus program has swelled to $2.8 billion since it was rolled out in 2003. Pennsylvania officials credit the 19 programs with helping to jump-start the state's economy by adding jobs, businesses and development.

As of June 30, $2.58 billion had been invested in 2,450 projects, leading to commitments to create 250,051 jobs while leveraging $4.67 billion statewide. The best is yet to come, Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Yablonsky said.

"A lot of the impact of these projects we committed to will still be felt going forward," Yablonsky said of the programs, which target infrastructure projects, community revitalization and business and other private-sector investment.

The program is not the sole answer to what ails the state in the eyes of the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, which identified slow growth, migration from older communities and a lagging economy that is in transition, among other issues, in two Pennsylvania studies, including one that was issued as the stimulus package was being developed. But, the effort is having an impact, and was strengthened this year.

"We think it's important the state [get] away from just pure project funding, to looking to support industry clusters and linking work force development with them," said Mark Muro, senior policy analyst for Brookings.

The state's most recently adopted budget increases funding for the Housing and Redevelopment Assistance program from $30 million to $34 million and funding for the Infrastructure Facilities Improvement Program from $15 million to $20 million. It also boosts Keystone Innovation Zone program funding by $500,000 to $3 million and adds a $75 million film tax-credit program to the state arsenal of incentives, Yablonsky said.

The program's First Industries Fund, which supports tourism and agriculture, has been tapped for 31 projects in the five-county area, including a $175,000 planning grant for the Franklin Square renovation.

Business In Our Sites -- designed to prepare sites for redevelopment -- has also been tapped, including an $18.3 million loan for infrastructure improvements within the Philadelphia Navy Yard and a $5 million loan to assist in the redevelopment of the former Worthington Steel Mill site in Chester County. The $320 million project, set for completion in 2009, should create more than 3,300 jobs.

Newtown, Bucks County, also tapped the Main Street Downtown Business Renewal program to add new street lamps to its commercial district.

"Currently, we are at 100 percent occupancy," Main Street Manager Chris Ortwein said of the commercial district. "We really have no time in between our turnover at this point."

The breadth of offerings could expand further if other initiatives being pushed by Rendell, including the Energy Independence Strategy and Jonas Salk Legacy Fund, make it through the legislature next year, Yablonsky said.