The Plans & Vision
McKees Rocks isn’t being rebuilt on a hunch. A decade-plus of serious planning — some of it by national experts — guides the work and de-risks investment.
Below is a curated overview. The full documents live in the Resource Library.
The CDC’s foundational strategy reframes revitalization as a new “pioneering” — as ambitious as the town’s original founding. It lays out a 20-year vision, a phased development plan, and short-term catalytic initiatives, transforming the flatland from underutilized industrial remnants into an integrated mixed-use district. Its core insight: the goal isn’t buildings or business for their own sake — it’s attracting new people, which in turn drives development, employment, and quality of life.
“Rediscovering… Community, Connections, Competitiveness.” A multi-municipal comprehensive plan emphasizing volunteer “champions,” minimal municipal resource demand, increased private-sector participation, and building momentum from simple wins toward complex challenges.
A clear design vision for the future of Chartiers Avenue and the McKees Rocks Main Street District — developed collaboratively with the Borough, a Streetscape Steering Committee, the CDC, business owners, and residents.
In November 2016, a ULI advisory services panel of national real-estate experts spent a week in McKees Rocks and produced a 57-page report, “Rebuilding the Working Communities of McKees Rocks and Esplen,” with 16 key recommendations on land use, reinvestment, social equity, and poverty. A $100,000 grant through the Allegheny Conference made the panel possible — and one recommendation connected the CDC with former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy, a ULI senior fellow, as a mentor.
“Transforming a community is not easy, and this provides an exciting yet realistic roadmap for what is possible.” — Taris Vrcek, Executive Director, MRCDC