ALLENTOWN, Pa. — City and state officials on Monday celebrated an eight-figure grant with the potential to revitalize large swaths of Allentown.
Allentown will bank $20 million in federal funding to connect people to jobs and break down major barriers to employment — namely the Lehigh Valley’s lack of accessible public transportation and affordable child care services.
“This is a phenomenal day in the city of Allentown,” Mayor Matt Tuerk said during an official announcement ceremony at the former Allentown Metal Works site. He was joined there by more than 100 people, including U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Susan Wild.
The Lehigh Valley is “really fortunate” because it has “some amazing industries” and companies, and “a lot of economic opportunity,” said Wild, D-Lehigh Valley.
“But that doesn’t mean much to you if you are somebody who … cannot access those jobs,” she said.
Allentown was named in December as a finalist for the Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program run by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which is set to distribute $184 million in grants.
Allentown’s Recompete application was one of six selected for funding from a pool of 565 submissions.U.S. Economic Development Administration
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis joined Tuerk and several federal officials at the former metal works site to announce the city grant.
Allentown’s application was one of six EDA officials selected for funding from a pool of 565 submissions, the most the agency has ever received for a single program, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alejandra Castillo said.
Other grant winners include Puerto Rico; Birmingham, Ala.; Clallam County, Washington; Eastern Kentucky; and Wind River, Wyoming.
“This is a day we can proudly say Allentown is on the move — no doubt about it."U.S. Sen. Bob Casey
Each of the areas selected for funding have experienced a “dramatic change in (their) economic landscape that fueled high unemployment among people 25-54, known as the “prime age” for workers, Castillo said.
'A BFD': Wild
Casey, who is seeking re-election this year, called Allentown’s $20 million Recompete grant “a win for our commonwealth.”
Once barriers to employment are knocked down for Allentown residents, “there are no bounds to what they can achieve,” Casey said.
“This is a day we can proudly say Allentown is on the move — no doubt about it,” Casey said.
Wild borrowed a few catchphrases from fellow lawmakers to make her point Monday.
“This is huge,” she said. “Not to speak in acronyms, but we have a governor who talks about GSD — Getting Stuff Done; a president who once referred to a BFD — and I won’t repeat what that means. You all know what that means.”
“This is a BFD and we are GSD with this,” Wild said.
Davis represented Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration Monday, with the first-term Pennsylvania chief executive one of a few names on Vice President Kamala Harris' shortlist for her running mate.
An announcement on Harris' vice-presidential pick is expected Monday night or Tuesday.
Davis spoke exclusively Monday with LehighValleyNews.com about his readiness to lead the state if Shapiro is chosen and wins the vice presidency.
Connecting to 'high-opportunity industries'
Officials say they plan to direct that money toward Franklin Park, Center City, and the First and Sixth Wards, where unemployment among “prime-age” people is much higher than the city average.
The Recompete program “is one of the most interesting and important programs the EDA has,” she said.
“We are going in, almost surgically, into the most highly distressed areas across the country and making sure that we are providing sizable grants,” Castillo said.
A summary of Allentown’s Recompete application says the city will work to train a diverse workforce “by connecting underserved communities to high-opportunity industries,” like manufacturing and health care.
“We tend to forget how critically important the childcare component is” to employment.Alejandra Castilla, assistant secretary for the U.S. Economic Development Administration
Those industries employ about a third of Lehigh Valley workers.
“This plan strives toward equity and economic justice by facilitating connections between Allentown residents and high-opportunity industries, ensuring greater, more equitable participation in citywide and regional economic growth,” Allentown officials say in the application.
A major strength of the city’s proposal was its insistence on building a “coalition” of stakeholders — including labor unions and employers — to ensure projects and initiatives are well-implemented, Castillo said.
If all goes according to Allentown’s Recompete plan, the city will “no longer (be) classified as an economically distressed local community” by the turn of the next decade.A summary of Allentown's Recompete plan
Allentown also included “a very unique” proposal in its application — ”working with about 70 child care providers and helping them improve their quality,” accessibility and affordability, she said.
“We tend to forget how critically important the child care component is” to employment, Castillo said.
$20 million just the start?
Allentown is in line for $20 million in federal funding, but officials should expect much more in private-sector investment to follow.
“The public dollars that we provide are really seed dollars to help transform the economic landscape and also make sure that other important players come into the fold — private sector being one of them, philanthropy being another,” Castillo said.
“There will be a lot of … great activity happening across Allentown to really make sure that the mission and the spirit of Recompete is achieved.”
Successful implementation of the Recompete plan would be “transformational” for Allentown, she said.
City projections show EDA investments will help employ more than 650 people by 2030, significantly boosting the area’s localized employment gap rate.
If all goes according to Allentown’s Recompete plan, the city will “no longer (be) classified as an economically distressed local community” by the turn of the next decade.
