The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) announced the designation of Oil City as the commonwealth’s newest Keystone Main Street. The designation will further enable the city to support downtown businesses and improve the quality of life for residents.

As a Keystone Main Street, Oil City will benefit from priority consideration for several DCED community development programs like the Keystone Communities program. The city will also receive technical assistance and training for local leaders and managers through the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, and networking opportunities with other designated areas.

Additionally, this designation makes Oil City eligible for consideration under the Neighborhood Assistance Program, which encourages private investment into community development projects in low-income areas.

DCED Northwest Regional Director Kimberly Thomas was joined by local officials for a formal designation presentation event in celebration of Oil City’s classification as a Keystone Main Street.

“We are excited to be officially designated by the commonwealth once again, this time as a Keystone Main Street community,” said Kathy Bailey, Main Street Manager for the Oil City Main Street Program. “It is a testament to the hard work of our volunteers, and the commitment of many partners including the City of Oil City, the Oil Region Alliance, and many local businesses and individual donors.

We’ve made some great strides over the past eight years, but still have lots of work ahead of us in our continued mission to make downtown Oil City a more attractive and vibrant place for years to come. ”

The primary goals of designated Main Street areas are to improve the quality of life in a community by making traditional downtown areas a more attractive place to live and work. The designation also strives to increase business development and create jobs in the area, improve the level of planning in the community, and ensure that public and private investments are impactful to the local economy.

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s December 2019 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.