After groundbreaking year, what's next for Erie County Redevelopment Authority?

Tina Mengine, CEO of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, admits there is a limit to what her organization is able to tackle.

But that limit hasn't been reached yet, said Mengine, who talked in a recent interview with the Erie Times-News about the authority's priorities, projects and some ideas about what might come next.

Evidence suggests the Redevelopment Authority has plenty on its plate, including the ongoing work to transform the former Erie Malleable Iron Co. plant on West 12th Street into a modern business park.

The record of achievement is highlighted in the Redevelopment Authority's newly released annual report.

EMI and other projects

Projects highlighted in the report include the cleanup of the former Quin-T-Tech Paper and Boards property near East 16th and French streets that the Redevelopment Authority bought in early 2021.

More:Erie County Redevelopment Authority plans demolition of EMI and Quin-T Tech Paper buildings

The authority's Enterprise Development Center also has awarded a contract to build a new 90,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center for Berry Plastics, which has its main Erie facility at 316 W. 16th St. The new $8 million building is set to be turned over to the tenant by Dec. 31, Mengine said.

More:A new $8 million warehouse to be built in Erie's Little Italy neighborhood

No Redevelopment Authority project looms larger, however than the ongoing work to transform the former EMI complex at the corner of West 12th and Cherry streets into a modern business park.

Heavy equipment has been on site over the past couple weeks, beginning demolition and cleanup work that is expected to continue until July.

The next phase of the project, a renovation of more than 70,000 square feet of existing buildings, including 12,000 square feet of office space, is expected to take about two years.

Mengine said she already has received interest from prospective tenants.

The rest of the complex is expected to be developed over time with buildings built to meet the needs of tenants.

Tentative plans for the first phase of the project also include space for a cafe or a microbrewery. Plans are incomplete, but Mengine said the authority is determined to get this right.

More:Erie County Redevelopment Authority gives local officials look inside EMI facility

"I don't think there will be any bigger project, at least in my tenure," she said. "We are taking 200,000 square feet of space and turning it into 150,000 square feet of ready-to-go, high-tech, high-quality leasable space."

Mengine, who listed blight removal as a priority when she started at the authority in 2019, wants both visitors and the people of Erie to see something more than a crumbling reminder of better times.

"The design, I think it will make a statement," she said. "My hope is that this is the spark necessary to transform that corridor. It needs to be a statement that says this is what Erie can be."

Loan portfolio

The Redevelopment Authority has been in the business of making loans since 2002, when Erie County gave the authority an $8 million grant to establish a revolving loan fund.

Under the direction of Rick Novotny, Mengine's predecessor, that $8 million grew into an $18 million loan fund.

More:Fresh start for Erie County Redevelopment Authority

The authority has expanded on those efforts by establishing what it calls a one-stop shop for lending that administers the City of Erie Enterprise Fund; Millcreek, Summit and Harborcreek Township revolving loan funds; a small business diversity fund; the Enterprise Development Fund, and its own revolving loan fund.

In the past two years, the authority's one-stop shop has closed on 100 loans worth $17.6 million. Those loans, as small as $8,000 and as large as $500,000, benefitted companies as diverse as a daycare center, a pizza shop and a Fairview Township foundry.

What's next

While work on EMI and other projects will continue, Mengine said the authority will shift some of its attention to a project called Grow Erie, a partnership between the authority, the Minority Investment Coalition and Integrated Agriculture Systems, or INTAG.

Plans call for building 17,000 square feet of greenhouse space in the Joyce Savocchio Opportunity Park to raise fish and hydroponic plants. Erie-based Curtze Food Service Distributor has signed on to buy most of what is produced.

More:Gary Horton and his nonprofit want to make former Burton School center of neighborhood

Mengine said she's excited to be involved.

"It's a really good project, particularly with a buyer for 100% of the goods," she said. "Once it gets up and running, maybe we will build a larger facility."

Asked about a high failure rate for companies in the world of aquaponics, Mengine said Grow Erie will have the benefit of working with an established company in INTAG.

"The aquaponics expert, they are going to be on site for at least a year, training and making sure the thing is operational," she said.

Mengine also sees benefits for the neighborhood that surrounds the business park.

"It's a social enterprise," she said. "It will hire people from the neighborhood. And they aren't all entry-level jobs. It's a pretty big deal. If it works, we will have created a new industry, and that's part of what we should be doing."

The project has the endorsement of former Erie Mayor Joyce Savocchio, for whom the park is named.

"So many states have done this as projects, and so many businesses have grown up around the country based on hydroponics," Savocchio said.

Better terms with the county executive

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis made it clear from the moment he took office in January 2022 that he planned to focus on economic development.

He also made it clear that he believed the Redevelopment Authority, under Mengine's direction, was operating outside its charter and that she was ill-suited to lead the organization.

"It's not a personal thing," Davis said in an April interview. "When you have someone thinking they can do a multi-million-dollar deal, but you don't have a background in any kind of development, or any kind of anything, that is a recipe for disaster."

In May, Davis also sought to remove three of the Redevelopment Authority's board members.

There are indications, however, that the relationship is improving in ways that could bolster local economic development efforts. The clearest evidence of this is that Davis and Erie County Council have awarded the Redevelopment Authority $5 million for countywide site development.

Does that mean the relationship between Davis and the Redevelopment Authority has improved?

"They have improved for the most part," Mengine said. "There is a recognition of what we bring to the table and the Redevelopment Authority and maybe me personally. That has been good."

More:Erie County Executive Brenton Davis plans to take lead on economic development

Davis agrees that things have changed.

“Erie County Government has a very good working relationship with the ECRDA team — Tina Mengine and Chris Groner," Davis said in a statement provided to the Erie Times-News.

He continued: "What‘s past is past. We are focused on the present and the future. The Economic Development Department of Erie County and the Redevelopment Authority are partners in several projects currently. I value their expertise and respect their track record for attracting funding to local projects.”

Other opportunities

Mengine said the authority will explore other projects even as it moves ahead with Grow Erie, the transformation of EMI and other projects already on the books.

Mengine said the authority might look for another brownfield project in the city or it could work to develop industrial park space elsewhere in the county.

But it might be important to move quickly.

She said the pool of funding that flowed from state and federal funding for COVID-19 relief won't last forever.

"That window will close in a couple of years. We have to do what we can to maximize opportunities," Mengine said. "You have to have projects and you have to be ready."

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County Redevelopment Authority touts record year for loan fund