The $6 million in state money announced Tuesday for the New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park is expected to draw jobs to the 70-acre facility along the Allegheny River in New Kensington and Arnold.

“This is a strategic location for economic development in our region,” said RIDC Senior Vice President Timothy White.

His group partnered in October with the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. to acquire the property from the New Kensington redevelopment authority and transform it into a modern manufacturing facility.

“These funds will enable us to move forward with the capital improvements necessary to make the park more desirable to the kind of job-creating businesses we are working to attract,” White said.

Tuesday’s funding announcement includes a $2.4 million grant and $3.6 million loan through the state Commonwealth Finance Authority’s Business in Our Sites program.

The money will be used to defray demolition costs at the park, along with site improvements and utility upgrades, New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said.

“We are certainly grateful to be in a position to continue to assist RIDC and the Westmoreland IDC to bring in businesses and create great employment opportunities for New Kensington and the entire A-K Valley,” Guzzo said. “We’re appreciative that our state government recognizes the importance of the continued success of the park.”

Originally home to Alcoa’s earliest production and research facilities, the complex closed in 1971 before becoming Schreiber Industrial Park. The redevelopment authority bought it in 2018.

Its 1.2 million square feet of space can accommodate heavy, light industrial and tech flex users.

With 18 buildings, the park is home to steel fabricator Affival and its 70 employees, along with 120 people at an air filter company, Filterbuy.

Its anchor tenant, Re:Build Manufacturing, is expected to create 300 new jobs with its state-of-the-art processes that will span five existing buildings.

Re:Build signed a 10-year lease with a focus on fabrication, manufacturing and assembly projects in industries such as energy, electric mobility, satellite communications and aerospace.

State Sen. Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, said the funding will not only support the existing businesses but also will play a key role in attracting new employers — benefiting the entire region.

“Pennsylvania is ready to compete and bring new opportunities for growth and prosperity to our communities,” said Pittman, whose 41st District includes municipalities from Arnold to Ligonier.

The manufacturing park is expected to subdivide a 20-acre parcel on the lower end of the site where deteriorating buildings, totaling 170,000 square feet, need to be demolished. Work will include the removal of the buildings’ foundations and slabs, and new utilities will be brought to the area.

The site will be marketed to advanced manufacturing businesses, with 200 jobs expected to be created.

In March, the park was awarded a $500,000 state grant to pay for road upgrades that will improve access.

“The commonwealth’s investment into the (facility) marks the next important step modernizing this legacy industrial campus and helps position the site to attract new advanced manufacturing operations to Westmoreland County,” said Jason Rigone, WCIDC executive director.

Rigone said he is appreciative of continued support that keeps the park competitive on a regional basis.

State Rep. Jill Cooper, R-55th District, credited the manufacturing park for helping New Kensington and its surrounding communities enjoy renewed economic development.

“Businesses there are offering family-sustaining wages, and you are seeing spin-off economic growth because of it,” Cooper said.

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