Erie's 2022 wasn't perfect, but the picture of a not-so-distant future gained focus

Pictures tend to be painted one brushstroke at a time.

Those brushstrokes might take the form of a new facade on an old building, a restored home or a new business on a vacant lot.

One brushstroke at a time, the picture of Erie's not-so-distant future continued to take shape in 2022.

The Erie Downtown Development Corp. opened its Flagship Public Market, built a parking garage and moved ahead with the construction of a new building at the corner of West Fifth and State streets.

More:Erie's Flagship Public Market debuts as EDDC checks another goal off its list

Work continued on a $27 million upgrade of Richford Arms, a 100-unit affordable housing complex on State Street.

Erie Insurance began moving into its new $147 million office building, adding to the level of activity in downtown Erie on a daily basis.

Businessman and developer Pete Zaphiris continued a multimillion-dollar reinvention of the former Citizens Bank building at the corner of West 12th and State streets. A couple of blocks away, ValueMomentum, a New Jersey-based information technology firm, began transforming a former Northwest Bank office into its new Erie home.

Thomas Hagen, the chairman of Erie Insurance, continued his yearslong effort at transforming some of Erie's finest old mansions into better-than-new versions of themselves, complete with modern upgrades.

Some of the 2022's victories were personal.

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Karen Rzepecki, founder of Erie-based ReCap Mason Jars, and Marva Keys Morris, owner of Zenedge Energy Drinks, each won contracts this past year to sell their products in Walmart stores.

More:Gannon deal with Erie's Hagen spares mansion; one sold and another to be moved

'Stable but sluggish'

James Grunke, CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, said he would describe 2022 by borrowing a description from Ken Louie, director of Penn State Behrend's Economic Research Institute of Erie.

Louie, he said, described the Erie economy as "stable but sluggish."

Grunke said he was encouraged by what he described as record investments in the community, including an increase in new housing starts within the city.

But there were also reasons to be disappointed, he said.

"In a lot of ways, I thought 2022 was a step backward," he said. "I think we were all disappointed to see a backward step in race relations and I think we continue to struggle with real leadership in the community," Grunke said. "We continue to look at things as us versus them. It's overcoming the scarcity mentality."

Big projects

In Millcreek Township, Paul Nelson, the owner of Waldameer Park & Water World, shook off the disappointment of down years in 2020 and 2021 and announced plans for a new $7 million water ride.

In Waterford, Ohio-based Shearer's Foods, owner of the former Troyer Farms chip plant, wrapped up work on a $27.5 million expansion project that made space for a new production line for baked chips. New jobs are being added.

Other significant construction projects also moved past or near the finish line, including Gannon University's South Hall, which repurposed a downtown office building to make room for about 100 students. In Harborcreek Township, Penn State Behrend completed work on a $6.6 million Federal House renovation and expansion and spent $28 million to build a new gymnasium with the old name of Erie Hall.

For the first time in a long time, construction cranes became a familiar sight in Erie.

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis acknowledged the progress in a statement to the Erie Times-News.

"This past year has brought forth the greatest investments our community has witnessed in our lifetimes," Davis said. "The most important investment we can make in our community is investing in our people. Investing in the infrastructure to enable local businesses to expand and attract new business investments which create family-sustaining jobs."

Age of scarcity

But in this new age of scarcity — a time when restaurants operate on shortened work weeks, bars close early and construction projects often stall for want of supplies — the news isn't all good. In fact, the thing that has most often been in short supply is people.

And that's held Erie back, leading to lower earnings and a gross domestic product that falls short of what it could be.

The plight of restaurants and their struggles to find employees has been well publicized.

But it's only part of the story.

In a September interview, Jake Rouch, vice president of economic development for the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, talked about the challenge of finding workers for the region's manufacturing sector.

At the time he estimated that something like 1,000 manufacturing jobs in Erie County were open thanks to a lack of applicants.

"It's not like we are down 2,000 jobs and there are no job openings," Rouch said at the time. "It's the opposite."

The search for people

Laith Wardi, who has spent most of his career in economic development, serving since 2000 as the owner and president of Erie-based Executive Pulse, which has trained economic development officials across the country, said he's encouraged about the investments taking place in Erie, especially on the bayfront.

"I think the whole game is about talent and the ability to lure talent to markets," Wardi said.

"I think the jury is still out on whether we are laying the right foundation," he continued. "Anybody with their eyes open can see there is monumental progress being made in the community right now. The question is where it's going to be enough to recruit talent."

Wardi cites an adage that economic development can't take place without population growth.

"That has been the Achilles' heel of northwestern Pennsylvania. We have no population growth."

It's not just a need for warm bodies. It's a need for new perspectives.

"A lot of times," Wardi said, "it's people coming from the outside with new ideas and new ways of doing things."

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Wardi, who served until recently on the board of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, said he's enthusiastic about the group's plan to transform the former Erie Malleable Iron Co. facility at the corner of Cherry and West 12th streets into a modern business park.

"I think it's what we need to flip the switch," Wardi said. "To me, EMI is a statement piece. It's a cornerstone."

There is still no guarantee, however, that Erie's efforts to date will be enough to change how the world at large views Erie.

"We have to see whether the seeds we have sown will grow," he said.

East Side Renaissance

It was almost exactly a year ago that three local Black leaders ― Bishop Dwane Brock, pastor of Victory Christian Center and CEO of Eagle's Nest Leadership Corp.; Marcus Atkinson, the former executive director of the nonprofit ServErie; and Matthew Harris, a former Pennsylvania State Trooper ― announced plans to begin sowing seeds of growth in a different neighborhood.

More:East Side Renaissance: Erie group eyes multimillion-dollar upgrades along Parade Street

The initiative, which they call East Side Renaissance, is intended to revitalize the real estate and people of Erie's east side, beginning with Parade Street between East Sixth Street and East 12th Street.

Brock, the group's leader, takes nothing away from efforts being made throughout the rest of the city.

"It's beautiful and wonderful," Brock said of the work taking place downtown. "But something happens when you get to Parade Street. You hit a wall. I call it the Twilight Zone."

With support from the community, the group's leaders have plans to establish a social club and build a bank branch and a grocery store while providing job training and financial literacy training.

More than anything, Brock wants to rebuild a sense of hope and purpose.

"They have had their dreams confiscated. I know what it is to have a dream confiscated," Brock said in a February 2022 interview. "I know what it is to feel lonely because I don't have aspirations about a future."

Aspirations about a future — that was something that seemed to be missing in Erie for a long time.

Things are changing, said Tina Mengine, CEO of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority.

"I think we as a community have a more unified and bigger vision," she said. "I think the projects we are working on are a testament to that."

What's important now is that Erie maintains its momentum.

"I think it's really important that we don't look at what we did and think, 'That's enough.' It's not. This has to be a sustained effort," she said.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Growth, development evident everywhere in Erie, PA