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Chester County Press

Uncle Irvin: Development group needs big funding lift

11/10/2015 01:08PM ● By Richard Gaw




The Route 1 Economic Development Initiative keeps plugging along, searching for companies that want to expand along the Route 1 corridor in southern Chester County.

But these volunteers are lacking adequate funding to entice a clean, well-run enterprise with its good, well-paying jobs to locate here. What the Economic Development Initiative needs is tax incentive packages put together by the Initiative, Chester County, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government. We will need serious money in tax abatement dollars from the county and state, and local school districts to get a large employer to relocate here. Kennett Square did this to entice Genesis years ago.

Bringing in a business from outside can't be accomplished in the same manner as dealing with expansions of local businesses that are owned by home-grown businessmen.

We need help from the federal government, including U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts and U.S. Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey.

The work of the Route 1 Economic Development Imitative is critically important and must continue and grow, but a special sub-committee should be set up to do nothing but look for seed funds, including GOP and Democrat political leaders.
That’s how Alabama got Mercedes Benz!

(Uncle Irvin's column is his opinion only, and is not a news story.)