McKeesport, PAOctubre 6, 2021 – State Sen. Jim Brewster today praised the completion of a nearly 37-acre land deal that will expand a medical cannabis cultivation site in the Industrial Center of McKeesport.

Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (RIDC) closed the deal with  Trulieve, a multi-state operator (MSO) in the medical cannabis industry. The deal includes two buildings at the RIDC’s Industrial Center of McKeesport along with nearly 37 acres of property.

 “Trulieve’s expansion in McKeesport is another example of how the Mon Valley continues to grow,” Brewster said. “The expansion not only brings employment opportunities but also strength to the local economy. I am proud to have Trulieve in my district and look forward to their continued success.”

Officials said Trulieve will build a processing and cultivation facility with 800 employees and covering more than 500,000 square feet at the site.

The sale is a landmark event in a more than three-decade effort to restore the former brownfield to productivity, said Brewster who has contributed to the process as a city councilman, mayor and now state Senator representing the region.

“This has taken a long-term partnership between local and state government and I’ve worked on it from both ends for 30 years,” he said. “We never gave up on the idea that our best days were ahead of us and, while the officials changed, the mission never did.”

“Trulieve is thrilled to partner with RIDC as we strive to bring high-quality medical marijuana to patients in Pennsylvania,” said Jim Wernick, Trulieve’s Director of State Expansion. “We look forward to building lasting partnerships with communities and benefiting from the strong talent pool that exists in McKeesport and the surrounding areas.”

“We have three decades of history in McKeesport,” said Donald F. Smith, Jr., RIDC President. “In 1990 we were leading brownfield redevelopment on this former U.S. Steel site in coordination with Allegheny County. Now we’re welcoming companies like Trulieve, Dura-Bond Industries, Trillium Flow Technologies, American Textile Company, and River Materials Inc. to make their new homes here. And the Mon Valley truly has some valuable assets: availability of a talented workforce to fuel expansion and proximity to national transportation and distribution networks.”

McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said the City of McKeesport is ecstatic over Trulieve’s expansion. “Trulieve’s decision to expand its presence here truly exemplifies the vision we had when PurePenn first broke ground in RIDC park,” said Mayor Cherepko. “It’s because of companies like Trulieve—the jobs they bring and their investments in the community—that our economy is steadily growing. This tremendous investment will translate to several hundred more jobs coming to our community.”

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