Just 17 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, east along Route 28, New Kensington sits along the Allegheny River with easy access to Route 28 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. New Kensington’s recent history parallels most other cities and town in the region. The decline of the local steel industry and Alcoa sent it into a tailspin of economic shock and symptomatic aftershocks. In the historic downtown area, resides banks, numerous businesses, restaurants, a shopping plaza and a Urgent Care Center as well as City Hall and the newly completely Westmoreland County College. There is a group of optimistic and motivated people and the City Government that are working to build upon our strengths and are gathering momentum.

New Kensington is the birthplace of aluminum, developed by Alcoa (Aluminum Company of America), which is till the global leader in the aluminum market. Although this multi-national corporation has long since left New Kensington, it’s left an indelible mark on the architecture of the community. “New Ken” as the town is affectionately known, has water fronts and hillsides replete with industrial edifices left behind by Alcoa.

New Kensington is 3.8 square miles in area and has a population of 14,701. The Redevelopment Authority and the City Government are actively and optimistically working to recognize and build upon the town’s many assets. There are approximately 57 acres of beautiful parks, plentiful affordable housing, and numerous educational opportunities, including a branch of Penn State University and the newly completed Westmoreland County College, and a diverse population that includes people of Greek, Polish, Italian and Syrian decent.

Perhaps New Kensington’s most progressive action item, the commuter train, is actually the reimplementation of a line that ran up until 1964. The line is still used for freight. Still, the tracks remain and the old train freight station, which had sat and been used as an industrial loading dock since that time, and now the Municipal Authority of the City of New Kensington occupies the space, has been refurbished on the outside and will be ready for ticketing. The commuter train would travel into the Strip District of Pittsburgh and would hopefully serve many stops in between these two terminals. The potential for alleviating current traffic issues on Route 28 is a very attractive selling point for regional agencies. With the commuter train running, New Kensington, with its affordable housing and low tax rate, could tie itself closer to Pittsburgh.

The Redevelopment Authority is taking a systematic approach to their economic development and revitalization planning. Fifth Avenue Phase I, consisting of 2 parcels, is the now the home to Geo-Solutions and Westmoreland County College. Fifth Avenue Phase II, consisting of 3 parcels, will be ready for development in the summer 2009, and there are additional land available for development. The Redevelopment Authority, in cooperation with the City of New Kensington, have demolished 150 structure in the past 6 years. The Redevelopment Authority has done this with great consideration of current tenants, relocating them when necessary. The Redevelopment Authority and the City of New Kensington is committed to revitalizing the downtown area of the city with particular attention to the beautification of the area by repairing sidewalks and lights. The Redevelopment Authority inventories all of the properties in the downtown area every two years, working to match will sellers with new or expanding businesses.