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City to Host Economic Summit

Photo by Craig Howell Weirton government and business officials gathered Wednesday to announce details of the Regional Economic Diversification Summit, set to be held Monday and Tuesday in Weirton. The REDS is organized by the City of Weirton and the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle. Taking part were, from left, Eric Frankovitch, of Park Drive Development; Pat Ford, BDC executive director; Mayor Harold Miller; Mark Miller, city planning and development director; and Rob Zuchlewski, chief operating officer of Frontier Group of Companies.

The Weirton area will receive national attention next week as the city plays host to a Regional Economic Diversification Summit, sponsored by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

The REDS, to take place Monday and Tuesday, is being organized in cooperation with the city of Weirton and the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle.

“It’s very, very important we get the word out on what’s going on in Weirton, West Virginia,” Weirton Mayor Harold Miller said during a press conference Wednesday.

Miller said planning for the summit began eight months ago, while he and others were in Washington, D.C. He explained it is the first such summit to be held within a 200-mile radius of the area.

As part of the summit, an invitation-only welcome reception will be held at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the Fairfield Inn and Suites, followed by a guided tour of three focus areas in Weirton — the Three Springs Business Park, North Main Street and downtown Weirton, and the 1,100 acres owned by the Frontier Group of Companies.

The summit will continue Tuesday with a series of roundtable discussions held at Williams Golf and Country Club, focusing on economic development, transportation and workforce development. U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., also is scheduled to be the guest speaker Tuesday.

Patrick Ford, executive director of the BDC, explained, federal development officials and legislators have recognized the efforts to redevelop the area’s brownfields using federal dollars. He said for every $1 of public investment, the area has been able to attract $35 of private investment.

“That’s one of the highest returns in public investment in the country,” Ford said.

Miller said the summit will provide an opportunity to show officials from the state and federal government where Weirton has been, what the community is doing to develop it for the future and what it can do.

“We certainly have a vision of where we want to be, and we’re heading in that direction,” Miller said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, local officials said, has worked in recent years to streamline procedures to remediate and develop brownfield sites, and McKinley worked to triple the amount of money available for such processes.

Robert Zuchlewski, chief operating officer of Frontier Group of Companies, said while the company continues to work on its plans for the former steel-making properties it purchased from ArcelorMittal, it is refreshing to see some of the efforts from local, state and federal officials to aid in the efforts.

“We’re fortunate to be in a community that cares as much as everyone here does,” he said.

Zuchlewski said Frontier Group is looking at a multi-dimensional approach, re-using some property for industrial operations, but also discussing residential, commercial and mixed-use options, as well as the idea of a job training center.

Ford said current demand shows there will be a need for about 3,000 welders for the potential jobs being created from the natural gas industry.

“Imagine the demand for truck drivers, technicians and electricians,” Ford said.

Eric Frankovitch, of Park Drive Development, said continuing efforts on property in the Three Springs Business Park are focusing on commercial and light industrial, as well as a new hotel and possible residential developments.

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