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Right: Traffic streams through Geneva College on Route 18. Photo: Kevin Cooke, Graule Studios. With the mass layoffs at US Airways (the county's largest employer in 2003) and its declining use of the Pittsburgh International Airport, a sluggish national economy and worries of outsourcing jobs overseas, many residents fear that Beaver County will follow the path it did in the mid-1980s, when the steel industry took a major blow. Take heart. Since January 2003, there are 1,400 more people in Beaver County's labor force, 2,000 more people employed and a drop in unemployment from 6.3 percent to 5.6 percent. Not bad for a county with "nothing happening." So how does Beaver County do it? How do we rebound from our biggest employer filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy? The answer is varied. We grow our local companies, bring in new companies with room to grow, and improve the quality of life for those employees so they will stay here. Consider Service Link. In 1997, the company had seven employees. Today, it employs more than 700 nationwide, with its headquarters and most of its staff based in the Hopewell Business Park. Inc. Magazine named Service Link one of its 500 fastest-growing U.S. companies in the 2001 and 2002 editions. With the success of the Hopewell Business Park, the Beaver County Corp. for Economic Development is building a new business park in Big Beaver off the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Upon completion, the park has the potential to house up to 400 workers. Another hidden gem and new industry in Beaver County is the growing BeaveRun Motorsports facility. The complex opened less than four years ago and creates new jobs each season. The complex has two full-length tracks, a Wilson Circuit race track for high-speed go-karts and a skid pad for training. This year the facility added a new state-of-the-art conference center, which most recently hosted the unveiling of BMW's latest model. The track is participating in a study to determine the possibility of adding another full-length track. Such economic good news often goes unnoticed. Thousands of Beaver County residents have no idea that one of the country's fastest-growing companies and one of the nation's most distinctive motor-sports facilities are right in their own backyard. Beaver County is also in the process of reclaiming its industrial sites. In Ambridge, CED is working with a developer on a potential $60 million project that will bring in more than 100 residential units and high-end retail shops, and will expand the existing business park. The park has already been purchased and refurbished. New jobs have started to crop up at the once-blighted area. In addition to the growth in jobs in Beaver County, we are taking steps to revert our riverfronts from an area of old industry and railroad crossings, to premier entertainment and recreational destinations. In Rochester, developers are turning an otherwise vacant lot into a centerpiece of activity. This summer was the first year that concerts took place along the river, bringing in a mix of local and national talent. Up to 1,200 people packed into an old vacant lot that now houses a riverfront stage as well as local vendors serving drinks and food to concert-goers. The success of the concerts and the nearby regional attraction of the Rochester Flag Park have sparked the interest of developers looking to turn an old scrap yard on the riverfront into an area that would rival the Strip District in Pittsburgh, offering mixed-use retail and commercial developments. Beaver County also will be receiving an additional $1.8 million from the state to support riverfront development.
Tourism is often an afterthought in counties that do not contain a major metropolitan area. However, Beaver County supports some of the most unusual areas to visit in the state. Where can kids make an authentic 1820s broom from scratch? Old Economy Village. The historic Ambridge site opened a $4.1 million visitor center in 2001 that rivals any historical complex in the state. Where can one view a collection of romantic, realistic and impressionistic art from the 19th century - with free admission? The Merrick Art Gallery, tucked away in New Brighton, is an art enthusiast's dream.
Right: The log house at the Beaver Area Historical Museum has been reconstructed with logs believed to be from the town’s Revolutionary War Fort McIntosh. It serves as an educational center for students and adults. Photo: Tom Dowlin With the decline of population over the last three decades, Beaver County has been burdened with old housing stock. In fact, 93 percent of the homes in Beaver County were built before 1980, resulting in many blighted and vacant homes. With the support of state Rep. Mike Veon and state Sen. Gerald LaValle, who chair Beaver Initiative for Growth, Beaver County was granted $1.8 million to demolish properties in 2005. That's about 19 times more than what is normally spent annually on demolitions. It's hoped that this infusion of funding will help continue a surge in building-permit filings for single-family homes in Beaver County. The number of permits awarded has increased for three years in a row. Without cooperation and a strong team effort, none of this would be possible. County leaders credit communication and cooperation as the key factors in making economic-development projects into realities quickly. Unlike the political infighting that occurs elsewhere, Beaver County's economic-development team, including local and state politicians, nonprofits, economic-development groups and local businesses are in constant communication with one other. They build a consensus on priority projects, ranging from PennDOT road projects to adding more recreational facilities. The numbers don't lie; Beaver County is in a unique period of economic growth and massive improvements to the quality of life. With local businesses growing, new businesses moving in, and the quality of life and housing improving, never let someone get away with saying, "There is nothing happening in Beaver County." - Dan Woodske
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Here in Beaver County, those statements could not be further from the truth. From projects that are generating more tourism to new companies moving in and setting up shop, there are good things happening in Beaver County. 
Left: More than 600 elementary school students annually visit the Beaver Area Historical Museum to experience frontier life and to learn that history is in their own backyard. 
The state Department of Tourism thought there was enough synergy with the county's heritage sites to invest $10,000 in creating a |
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