Revitalization of Swissvale Begins Despite Lack of Business Interest

Swissvale has suffered since the closing of the Steel Mills 40 years ago, according to Councilman Darrell Rapp. Big retailers don’t see Swissvale as a place to open new businesses, according to borough secretary Amanda Ford.

Today, Rapp, Ford and the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) are interested in changing the trajectory of the Swissvale area by focusing on nurturing Swissvale’s dying business district.

“We want to be a borough, group and community that says, ‘Hey come to Swissvale!’” Ford said.

Phase One of Many

With the help of EDAC, which Rapp chairs, council is moving forward with the first phase of what he considers to be a many phase plan for the future of the Swissvale business district.   

Pampena Construction has been contracted to work on projects to beautify Washington Street between Pampena Street and Monongahela Ave. New street lamps, trees and facilities such as handicap ramps are among the projects that began in May.  

Phase I was able to take off because of a Community Development Block Grant from Allegheny County. The ideas for the improvements came from EDAC working with Klavon Design last summer, and the committee picked everything down to the style of street lamp.  

For business owner Charlie Nied, the improvements are something to be elated about.

“People are going to feel like this is a place they can do business,” Nied said. He believes the beautification will spark private investment in the community.  

“This is a community step,” Nied said.

Swissvale’s Business Problem

EDAC is supposed to bring local business people, residents and members of council together to work on bettering business in the community, but this has not been the case, Ford said.

An overall lack of interest in participation from Swissvale businesses is leaving Ford disheartened.    

“To me it is such a disappointment,” said Ford who cited herself, Rapp, Mayor Deneen Swartzwelder and business owner Charlie Nied as the consistent few of the EDAC group.

Nied, who runs the Nied Funeral Home on Washington Street, is also confounded by the lack of engagement from surrounding businesses.

“We could let our town go. Who benefits from that? Nobody,” Nied said.

Outreaching to local businesses is tough enough, but attracting new businesses into Swissvale is tougher.

“I would love to see a McDonalds or a Panera or — heck — even a Starbucks. But I don’t know why those businesses don’t want to consider Swissvale a place to have a little Starbucks coffee shop,” Ford said.

Ford said she would be ecstatic if someday Swissvale could look like Oakmont, which is where the beautification efforts of EDAC will help.

“Right now it’s such a gloomy place and there’s nothing really there to tantalize people,” Ford said.  

Rapp said that  the committee realized early on that, “Beautification would not be the silver bullet.” There must also be a focus on what he calls the “softer side of things,” such as supporting existing businesses and attracting new ones into the borough.

Nied thinks that the business revitalization is doing just that.

“Everyone knows we have problems. This project we are doing is a step towards taking care of our town,” Nied said.  

Moving Forward

How quickly each phase happens, depends on whether or not the committee brings in more grant money, which can be a slow process. The streets included in the business revitalization plan are Monongahela Avenue, Noble Street and Washington Street. Although, Rapp said they have found some situations to move forward that they didn’t expect.  

“We were able to turn lemons into lemonade on Noble Street,” Rapp said.

The borough wanted to add trees and lamp posts on Noble Street, which would require the sidewalks to be torn up. People’s Gas already had crews out tearing up the sidewalks to replace old gas lines, so the two partnered up. At what Rapp said was a minimal cost, the borough was able to get their tree pits and underground electrical systems ready.

The borough found trees to fill their newly dug pits in another convenient partnership.

The Nine Mile Run Watershed Association had planted trees in Swissvale before so the borough reached out to the organization regarding planting trees in the business district.

Working with the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, the borough was able to get trees under an existing grant.

The beautification of Noble Street will be complete with the addition of street lamps.

Finishing Noble Street completely is part of Phase 2, and otherwise the committee will extend any future grant money received as far as it will go, Rapp said.

 “It’s property by property and project by project,” Rapp said.

The next meeting of EDAC will be at 7 p.m. on July 16 in the borough building. EDAC meetings are the third Tuesday of each month.