15 minute read
Roundtable: Goals and
®oundtable:
Goals and opportunities
Chester County leaders provide their outlook for 2021, discussing their priorities and goals and where the opportunities lie.
Josh Maxwell
Commissioner Chester County
What have been some recent initiatives to boost the Chester County community? We’ve created an ethics policy and a diversity and inclusion board for our County government. We have over 2,000 employees, and we want to make sure we’re providing opportunities across all backgrounds. We’ve also been providing corporate relief grants. We’re up to $15 million in grants to businesses along with $15 million for childcare to ensure parents can get to work despite restricted daycare space. We’ve also been investing in affordable housing, creating six more affordable housing projects throughout the county. This includes $1.2 million for affordable housing in the center of the County.
What are your top priorities for the near term? We’re always pushing to become a stronger, more efficient government and searching for ways to reinvent what we do. We’re also looking to further improve our already solid financial situation, specifically our budget process. We want to make sure we’re utilizing taxpayer dollars in the most efficient and effective ways possible. One aspect of this is looking at the space we need for our county government in a transforming work environment. A lot of our buildings were built decades ago and many were designed thinking people would be spending 40 hours a week in the office. With the new work environment as a result of the pandemic, we need to reevaluate our space needs to ensure we’re most efficiently using taxpayer dollars. This is the year we’re going to open up the budget and start looking at every dollar, making sure it’s being invested wisely.
Michelle Kichline
Commissioner Chester County
What role will inter-institutional and business cooperation play in the post-pandemic landscape? Chester County enjoys a long-standing tradition of collaboration, with a track record of public-private partnerships. We also have a robust nonprofit sector. Moving forward, it will be more important than ever to establish cooperation mechanisms among the different stakeholders that push our economy and community forward. We are looking to partner with small local businesses, whose successes will attract other businesses to set up shop here. Our COVID-19 Business Task Force is called upon to play a major role in that effort. Parallel to our robust financial services and biopharma sectors, Chester County has been a launching pad for several information and technology companies, coupled with intellectual-property firms. In 2018, we officially launched a program called Venture Chesco, in which we partnered with Ben Franklin Technology Partners to fund venture startups and small businesses as long as they locate and grow in Chester County. In turn, this fosters the intellectual capital of young, small businesses, which are critical to us.
What are Chester County’s top priorities in 2021? Our top priority, in collaboration with our health department, is to ensure the health and success of our residents. Protection from the virus is certainly critical, but so is the health of our businesses. We’re putting tremendous effort into “Restore Chester County” and our COVID-19 Business Task Force. We will continue to implement the same prudent fiscal management that we always have. We remain optimistic.
Susan Hamley
What have been the biggest takeaways for Chester County Conference & Visitors Bureau this past year? I think one of the most significant takeaways is the old adage, “no man is an island.” I’ve always been an advocate for collaboration but this environment proved the absolute necessity of it. Our regional destination marketing organizations in Chester, Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties and Philadelphia, including the airport and the convention center, brainstormed recovery strategies together from the very start of the pandemic. As a side benefit, I think we also lifted each other up when we didn’t know exactly what we were facing. Together, we have greater impact and reach and a louder voice in the marketplace. Plus, we can be more efficient.
How are you working to help the tourism sector rebound from the pandemc? We do know from research that leisure is going to drive tourism. We are 100% funded by a lodging room tax, so we’re pragmatic in how we spend those reduced dollars. We’re conserving in 1Q21 to be prepared for a more robust recovery when visitors are listening more and ready to travel. In the last part of 2020, we were awarded a block grant from the Chester County Commissioners’ office. With that, we did a multipronged campaign. One was hyper-local, supporting our restaurants and other small businesses. The second campaign was Magical Moments Await, centered on our biggest draw –Longwood Gardens – but inspiring future visitors with our full offering of Chester County gems they can experience here.
Brian O’Leary
What would you identify as the county’s primary challenges for 2021? Fully recovering from the pandemic will be the county’s primary challenge in 2021, including getting people vaccinated. Urban centers will be a continuing focus for us, specifically assisting downtowns and distressed businesses. Many of our downtowns are vibrant restaurant destinations, such as West Chester, Phoenixville, Kennett Square and Malvern. In 2020, a number of those communities worked with PennDot to close streets and expand outdoor dining, which was critical during the pandemic. The county is continuing to provide grants to these small businesses. Having a strong workforce remains critical for the county’s overall economy. It will continue to be so as we have a great, highly educated workforce, but some businesses are having trouble getting the workers they need with the correct training. The county’s Workforce Investment Board helps with this training.
What are the Planning Commission’s 2021 priorities? We will be taking more of an economic focus during this year. First, we will redo our analysis of the county economy and update it. We also want to identify redevelopment opportunities and provide guidance on how places can be redeveloped. On the housing front, which is critical for economic development, we want to have housing that is attractive and fits in, is affordably priced, in the right location, aging friendly, and adaptable. During the year, we’re going to be looking closely at missing middle housing to see how we can get more of those assets.
Gary Smith
President & CEO – Chester County Economic Development Council
There is optimism in the market as people are starting to see an increasing proportion of the population getting vaccinated. We remain completely engaged in helping the most fragile parts of our economy, those businesses that have been very much negatively impacted by the pandemic. The base of the recovery efforts is built into the design of Restore Chester County and the 21 industry clusters, which include some exciting opportunities. The good news is that Chester County has some very strong economic indicators: it is the 10th-wealthiest county in the country; has the fastest-growing and highest median income in Pennsylvania, and we are a Triple A-rated county that has enjoyed good management over the years. Though these factors have historically been economic pluses, we are also aware that there are pockets of need in any community that need to be addressed.
( ) Center and on-site educational assessments. Chester County also launched the Simple Ask: Wear a Mask Campaign to support local businesses by providing signage, social media toolkits, branded masks and other PPE items. The County Commissioners launched a social media and marketing campaign as well as offering grants totaling $150,000 to eligible chambers of commerce, to allow them to support local businesses in the effort.
Infrastructure projects Over the last year or so, several major infrastructure projects, focused on road, rail and public transit have been completed in Chester County. At the end of 2019, SEPTA, Amtrak and state and local officials announced the completion of the Paoli Station Accessibility Improvements Project, a $48 million plan to improve operations. Station enhancements made by Amtrak included a new platform, new elevators and a pedestrian overpass. Shortly after, the county celebrated the completion by PennDOT of the final phase of the US202 improvement project, including rehabilitation of two bridges over Amtrak rail lines in West Whiteland and East Whiteland townships. And at the beginning of 2020, SEPTA inaugurated the newly modernized Exton Station on the Paoli/Thorndale Regional Line. The funding was received from Transportation Bill 89 signed into law in 2013 by then-Gov. Tom Corbett and improvements included new high-level platforms, covered bicycle parking, extension of the parking lot, installation of a stormwater management system and platform lighting and signage upgrades.
Significant improvements in Coatesville – Chester County’s only city – can be seen in the new train station initiative, with investment coming from Amtrak, a commitment to extend train service to the city by SEPTA, and $1 million in funding provided by the County Commissioners for a parking garage adjacent to the station. The US-422 between Chester and Montgomery counties is also undergoing several improvements, which include Schuylkill River crossings, rail crossings and improvements to facilitate multimodal transport. PennDOT is also designing projects to reconstruct US-1, with construction bids expected to open in 2023 through 80% federal and 20% state funding. A series of improvements are in the design stage for the US-30 to upgrade the Coatesville-Downingtown bypass.
Chester County is extremely active in land preservation, and for this reason, it boasts 142,000 acres of permanently protected land — nearly 30% of the county’s land area. As entertainment facilities closed during the pandemic, and many viable activities that comply with social distancing focus around the outdoors, Chester County was, and remains, wellpositioned with its extensive network of parks, trails and green areas. The Chester Valley Trail is 14.7 miles in length with over 13.5 miles open for use within Chester County. The county is actively working on an extension that would see the trail run an extra seven miles to the west into Downingtown. Montgomery County is also constructing an extension of the trail to the east into Norristown to provide a connection to the Schuylkill River Trail. When the Schuylkill River trail is completed in Chester County, it will run parallel to the river for 10 miles from Phoenixville to Pottstown. Right now, 5.75 miles of trail are open in Chester County.
Key sectors Chester County has several key sectors that contribute to its economy. Namely, Life Sciences, Information Technology, Entrepreneurship & Management, Agriculture, Tourism & Entertainment, Banking & Finance, Manufacturing, Education and Healthcare.
The county is once again seeing growth in the Life Sciences sector, which includes biotechnology and pharmaceutical research, development, manufacturing and distribution firms, after employment declines in prior years. Chester County is home to 7,114 life sciences employees. The county’s location quotient of 3.16, coupled with the burgeoning Route 202 high tech corridor, means it is often at the top of the list for companies looking to locate lab space in the region. Some of the life science focused companies that currently call Chester County home include Life Sciences Pennsylvania, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and West Pharmaceutical Services.
Named the Top Tech Hub in Pennsylvania, there are a high concentration of technology companies settled in Chester County. As a result, Information Technology has been a key economic driver. Total employment in the IT industry in Chester County is 13,629 as of 2018 and the location quotient is 1.77. This allows the county to compete nationally to attract technology companies. Bentley Systems, QVC, and Infosys are a few of the technology-focused companies that have a significant
presence in the county. Software publishing is also experiencing massive growth, more than doubling its number of jobs to 2,303 from 2015 to 2018.
Entrepreneurial spirit is extremely high in Chester County and Management roles account for around 4% of jobs in the county, employing 9,134 people. The location quotient of 2.27 exceeds any other nearby Pennsylvania County as well as the Pennsylvania average of 1.3. The average annual wage provided by these professions is $178,554, well above the national and even the Chester County average.
With its rich history of farming and swathes of protected land, it is no surprise Agriculture is one of the top industries in the county. With temperate climates and rich, fertile soil, the county remains in second place of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties in terms of value of agricultural products sold. Over half of the mushrooms produced in the United States are grown in Chester County. Agriculture and food production is one of the biggest job creators, providing over 10,000 jobs in 2018.
While one of the major industries to suffer under the COVID-19 pandemic, as of 2018, Tourism & Entertainment was among the most buoyant economic sectors in Chester County. Philadelphia, as a convention and tourism and entertainment hub, leads the region in this sector with 77,000 jobs but Chester County has seen huge growth with 24,809 jobs as of 2018. Major attractions and historical sites include Longwood Gardens, the Brandywine Battlefield, the Paoli Battlefield, the Valley Forge National Historical Park and St. Peter’s Village. It is also host to the Devon Horse Show.
With many of the major Banking and Finance institutions having set up roots in Philadelphia as one of the country’s financial centers, the overspill has created over 23,000 jobs in Chester County. Some of the prominent financial institutions with a presence in the county include Citadel Credit Union, TD Bank, PNC Bank, De Lage Landen Financial Services and US Investment Corp. The location quotient of 1.83 is high compared to the national average and it outpaces neighboring counties. Investment management firm Vanguard is Chester County’s largest employer, and is the home of the company’s world headquarters, in this segment with over 8,000 employees.
The original home of the nation’s iron industry, Chester County has retained much of its early Manufacturing expertise. Providing around 18,900 jobs pre-COVID, due to negative manufacturing trends countrywide pre-pandemic the sector has experienced some contraction.
Feeding into all this economic growth is Chester County’s top-ranked Education offering. The county is home to a range of prestigious educational institutions. Its 12 public school districts contain 60 elementary schools, 19 middle schools and 17 high schools. Some
Chester County ranks second in Pennsylvania in value of agricultural products sold
Doug Claffey
Founder – Energage
For all of us, 2020 is a year we were happy to say goodbye to. But 2021 is starting strong, and I see us back on a growth path. In terms of our focus, which is helping companies generate employee engagement, we’re going to continue to press on to achieve our purpose of making the world a better place to work together. Our silver lining is seeing the effects of what we do, whether it’s giving employees a voice, sharing data that helps leaders improve the employee experience, or recognizing people-first organizations through our annual and quarterly awards,
Hubert Ho
Chief Operating Officer – 8BioMed
As a venture company in biotech, we have to be agile and flexible. COVID triggered some uncertainties and difficulties, forcing us to slow down. But we took this opportunity to launch our 8HUB incubator to make use of our surplus resources and reserved space. The decision was timely as we noticed that other venture companies were looking at adjusting their plans to become COVID-resilient, therefore creating demand, and we are in the position to meet their needs. Furthermore, this pandemic-triggered slowdown also presented us the opportunity to re-evaluate our plan as we switched gears. Thanks to our 8HUB incubator initiatives, we started to connect to a greater variety of companies in the area, allowing us the opportunity to identify valuable synergy potentials and collaboration partnerships despite the physical limitations. This demonstrates not only that a crisis could evolve into opportunities but also the dynamic environment and resourcefulness the region offers.
of the public schools in the county are nationally recognized, award-winning schools, one of which is the Downtown STEM Academy. There are 95 private, early childhood education schools, 20 private high schools, 18 charter and online schools, three technical college high school campuses and six colleges and universities. Notable higher education institutions include Lincoln University, Cheyney University, West Chester University, Immaculata University and Penn State Great Valley. The sector employed 12,689 people pre-COVID.
One of the most critical sectors in the last year, the healthcare industry is also the largest employer in Chester County with almost 29,000 employees, and there are many opportunities for the county to capitalize on its geographical proximity to the metropolitan area. National and industrial trends are also supporting growth in the sector.
Looking ahead Chester County’s economy is diversified among a number of key industries. As a result of the pandemic, the county’s economic growth was disrupted but it was largely insulated from large-scale damage by its strong economy and a local government that understands the importance of protecting local businesses.
Restore Chester County has provided a lifeline to the community in terms of grants, training and support during the pandemic. And the county’s VISTA 2025 economic development strategy includes both the public and private sectors in the long-term growth of Chester County so that it continues to be an attractive place to live for its residents.
Not only this, but emphasis is being placed on longterm economic strategies related to climate change and diversity and inclusion. In February 2021, the Chester County Planning Commission, in partnership with the Chester County Environmental and Energy Advisory Board, held a virtual public meeting on the county’s Climate Action Plan, and a draft plan has since been made available. The Chester County Commissioners and the Chester County Economic Development Council are also taking steps to focus on diversity, inclusion and equity within county government and the county’s business community.
While challenges remain, in particular as the pandemic continues, Chester County is a bright spot in the region, focusing on its economic diversity to ensure it remains a leading destination for individuals and companies.
Capital Analytics would like to thank Chester County for its contributions in compiling this chapter. To learn more, visit its website at:
www.chesco.org
