New Kensington bustling 5 years into revitalization plan
Mike Malcanas took the advice he got years ago at a business convention to heart.
“Everybody — no matter where they were from — said the day a brewery came into town, the attitude started to change,” said Malcanas, operator of New Kensington’s Voodoo Brewing and founder of Olde Towne Overhaul.
And, as thousands gather in New Kensington’s Fifth Avenue every month for the Fridays on Fifth event, supporting Voodoo and many other new businesses that have opened in recent years, Malcanas has seen the work that he and other business owners have put in to revitalize downtown New Kensington begin to pay off.
“We’re five years in, and it appears to be working,” he said.
The efforts
Olde Towne first started flipping residential properties in New Kensington and started buying commercial properties in late 2017. Voodoo was its first business, opening in 2020.
Olde Towne owns about 40 units in downtown New Kensington and has filled all but a dozen of them, Malcanas said. The company works with local entrepreneurs to move, or start, their business in the city and make it affordable for them to move in.
“This is not a get-rich-quick scheme,” Malcanas said of Olde Towne’s work. “The hope is, in 10 years, you turned the town around and it’s a viable town again.”
Malcanas acknowledged that not every business that opened in recent years has been successful, but the ones still open outnumber those that failed.
Fifth and Fourth avenues feature a little bit of everything: from axe throwing to a pay-what-you-can cafe, to breweries and wineries to ice cream and candy parlors, bakeries and yoga studios.
“We’re very art-centric here,” said Michelle Thom, operations manager for Olde Towne. “There’s a lot of unique shops. There’s no ‘big box’; it’s all small business.”
Mayor Tom Guzzo estimated that, over the past five years, about 150 businesses have opened in the city, most of them in downtown.
Last year, the city reported more than $323,000 in collections from its mercantile tax — the highest number over the past six years, according to City Clerk John Zavadak.
The city’s mercantile tax collection reflects business activity across the city. In 2023, collections were just under $280,000; about $260,000 in 2022; about $220,000 in 2021; and nearly $213,000 in 2020, according to numbers provided by Zavadak.
“There have been developers like Olde Towne Overhaul who have invested in the downtown, purchasing buildings and providing people an opportunity to open a business,” Guzzo said. “There are people who have decided to take a chance and fulfill their dream of owning a business.
“It’s an amazing mix of breweries, great restaurants, the Knead Cafe, a winery, unique shops, a new park and playground and entertainment centers like Las Hachas and Feisty Goblin, just to name a few.”
Many businesses are owned by women or minorities, Guzzo said.
More than just stores
Guzzo also points to industrial and manufacturing gains, gatherings and activities, infrastructure improvements and statewide recognition for his city’s downtown.
Last year, New Kensington was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence for Economic Growth. Fifth Avenue was named Best Street in Pennsylvania by the American Planning Association.
The city recently was awarded $1 million for infrastructure upgrades on Ninth Street.
“State officials are recognizing us and our efforts and are assisting us with them through these grant programs,” Guzzo said. “We secured funding that has allowed us to put in new sidewalks and pave the streets and install all new street lighting throughout downtown over the last five years.”
Malcanas points to Fridays on Fifth — the monthly street festival throughout the summer put on by the New Kensington Recreation Commission — as one of the city’s biggest draws. It’s celebrating five years this summer.
“From the very first one, we were surprised at the overwhelming support, and it’s never let up from the first one,” said Nicole Vigilante, a member of the city’s Recreation Commission, which puts on Fridays on Fifth. Vigilante also owns Trovo Co., a vintage home decor shop on Fifth Avenue, and co-owns Strange Roots brewery with her husband, Anthony Vigilante. He is the solicitor for the city and the New Kensington-Arnold School District.
“We’re drawing people from all over the Pittsburgh area,” Nicole Vigilante said. “The word is getting out that it’s a nice event.”
Downtown’s success wouldn’t be possible without the Digital Foundry, a business development service, and the Corner Launchbox, a small-business entrepreneurship venue, Guzzo said. Both were products of Penn State New Kensington.
“The presence of the Digital Foundry provided us with an opportunity to attract major companies like Re:Build Manufacturing, who are hiring 300 people in our industrial park,” he said.
The New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park — acquired by the RIDC and the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. — also has seen gains in recent years. Renovations and demolitions of long-vacant buildings there are making way for site prep for future businesses.
Currently, the park houses Affival, a steel fabricator, and the air filter company Filterbuy. In May, New York-based Ecolectro, a hydrogen production manufacturer, announced it would begin operations at the park.
What’s next?
Malcanas estimated the remaining 10 to 12 vacant Olde Towne-owned units will be filled in the next five years.
“We’ll probably be looking for a new town,” he said.
Malcanas and Thom said Olde Towne is working on rehabbing second-floor residential units in downtown.
“Nowadays, everyone wants to live, work and play on Main Street,” Malcanas said.
As more malls die out, Nicole Vigilante said, people are craving a “Main Street USA” feel. New Kensington fits that bill.
“New Kensington has a great main thoroughfare and great architecture,” she said. “It’s contagious, and people want to be a part of that.”
Malcanas said a pleasant surprise to his revitalization efforts has been the loyalty of New Kensington residents.
“The city used to be great,” he said. “The older generation really held an affinity to the town, and they passed it down to the younger generation. The younger generation really has a love for the town.
“Stories of an old era permeate the town. I had half a dozen older guys (at Voodoo) come up to me with tears in their eyes, saying, ‘Thank you: I never thought I’d see this many people in downtown New Ken.’ ”
Vigilante thinks that loyalty contributes to New Kensington’s success in revitalization.
“The people are proud. Despite our history and problems over the years, people are proud of New Ken and how far we’ve come,” she said. “And people want to be part of that.”
Kellen Stepler is a TribLive reporter covering the Allegheny Valley and Burrell school districts and surrounding areas. He joined the Trib in April 2023. He can be reached at kstepler@triblive.com.
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