“Located in the heart of the Rust Belt, New Castle, Pa., has been struggling ever since the decline of the steel industry. Losing its industry brought hard times as people lost jobs and, eventually, businesses closed. Population began to drop in the 1960s and continues to decline — New Castle, after all these years, remains a shell of a city just waiting to be reborn.”
In the first of two revitalization projects (read about the other project), Wesbanco used NMTC financing to help a borrower purchase and renovate a vacant commercial building at 101 Mercer Street, New Castle, PA. Previous to this purchase, the building had been completely vacant since March of 2018, when it lost its anchor tenant, the Department of Vital Statistics.
Since their purchase, the borrower has taken a dark building in downtown New Castle and has made many improvements and has landed a major anchor tenant. The building now now 7 businesses and nonprofits entities with 44 employees, including:
- Pennsylvania CareerLink Mercer County: A partner of the American Job Center network that p[ovides direct services to address the needs of job-seekers and employers searching for qualified job applicants.
- Wallace Wear: A small business that produces personalized apparel and art.
- Sovereign Martial Arts Worldwide New Castle: A martial arts school for children and adults.
- And more…
Learn more about Wesbanco’s second project in New Castle.