Planned Food and Beverage Facility in Kensington Wins State Multimodal Funding

Planned Food and Beverage Facility in Kensington Wins State Multimodal Funding

Senator Tartaglione welcomes MaKen City, which will offer many new family-sustaining jobs and will contribute to an economic renaissance of the community.

HARRISBURG, PA, March 26, 2019 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) is pleased to announce that Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Financing Authority has awarded a $750,000 Multimodal grant to a Philadelphia-based social impact real estate group that will rehabilitate an idle industrial facility in Kensington into a food and beverage sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution facility.

The CFA board awarded the grant to 956 Erie Partners LLC, an affiliate of the Shift Capital real estate group, during the board’s meeting today in Harrisburg. The project is within Tartaglione’s 2nd Senatorial District.

“This is great news for a community that was once an economic engine for the region, but has long endured the debilitating effects of a decline in the city’s industrial manufacturing sector,” Senator Tartaglione said. “This project will bring new energy and many family sustaining jobs to a neighborhood challenged by high poverty. Yet, this neighborhood still has a wealth of willing workers and a great transportation infrastructure.”

Supported by experienced architects and consultants, Shift Capital plans to refurbish a 741,063-square-foot structure that sits on 19 acres at 956 E. Erie Ave., between “G” and “I” streets. The new facility will be known as MaKen City. The project will create jobs during the construction phase, as well as permanent full-time employment opportunities for local workers.

The developers hope that the improvements will have a ripple effect on the surrounding community, which is already home to Shift Capital’s MaKen Studios (a multi-use development with residential, entrepreneurial, and artistic spaces), as well as Liberty Coca-Cola’s corporate offices and production facilities.

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