In 1990, one avoided the corner of American and Berks streets in Philadelphia, unless you wore hip waders. The ground, saturated with petroleum from the Sovereign Oil operation at the site, could not be occupied by anything human.

When Sovereign Oil declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990, it looked as if the abandoned area would become an eyesore, destined forever to be a former business site, instead of a productive one.

Today, however, 246 W. Berks Street is again a place of business. Thanks to aggressive action by the city of Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania, a food distributor opened a warehouse on the former Sovereign Oil site in March.

Asia Foods operates a 60,000 square foot distribution facility there, supplying 500 restaurants and 15 wholesalers on the East Coast.

The company increased its work force from 48 to 72 people, and plans to add still more employees. The new building also kept Asia Foods from moving out of Philadelphia.

The turnaround at American and Berks didn't happen by itself. First, the Environmental Protection Agency removed tons of waste from the site in 1992.

Next, an environmental firm was hired to assess the remaining remediation costs. Workers hauled away 44 above ground storage tanks and demolished the building.

From there, the city and state partnered to pay for the rest of the remediation, with the state picking up $900,000 and the city $300,000. In December of 1998, the city transferred the title to the land to Asia Foods, and construction began on its facility in January.

A place to grow up, learn, and get a job
Pennsylvania attacks obstacles on a statewide level much as it worked to develop a site for Asia Foods.

Two of the state's goals, increasing the number of technology companies and keeping Pennsylvania-educated workers at home, go hand in hand.

In 1999, the state launched a campaign to retain graduates of its colleges and universities. State officials know that, in order to keep graduates at home, they need jobs to plug them into. That's where the state's technology growth comes in.

One of the companies moving into Pennsylvania is Vertek Corp., an information technology consulting firm headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J. Vertek recently opened a 22,000 square foot facility in the Lehigh Valley Corporate Center, in Bethlehem, in eastern Pennsylvania.

"We were looking for a wide range of employees with a diverse background," Vertek President James McCormick told the Bethlehem Express-Times. "It will give college graduates one more reason to consider staying in the area to help us build a stable, quality work force."

The state of Pennsylvania provided a $600,000 incentives package for the project, including a Customized Job Training grant and Job Creation Tax Credits.

To stay on top of the technology game, Pennsylvania provides more than just words to growing companies. In Bethlehem, the state is building a technology center to house small, growing companies.

The 35,000 square foot facility is the second center in the Lehigh Valley. The state provided a $1.05 million Industrial Development Authority loan and a $600,000 grant to purchase the land and build the facility.

Harvest States Cooperative selects Mt. Pocono
A milling company, Harvest States Cooperative, decided that Mt. Pocono was the best place for its new facility. In December of last year, Harvest States sent its first shipments of flour to bakers and pasta makers on the East Coast.

Transportation at the eastern Pennsylvania site was crucial to the location decision.

"Mt. Pocono is an ideal location to expand our presence in the milling industry," said Garry A. Pistoria, president of Amber Mills, the parent company of Harvest States. "In today's environment, transportation economics clearly call for locating facilities such as ours in what we call a 'forward position' close to our customers.

"The rail at the site links with two major rail lines, the CP/D&H and Norfolk Southern, that Harvest States will use for inbound shipments of grain and outbound product movement. And, for our customers who prefer truck delivery, the proximity to I-80 was critical."

-- Lance Yoder