Local, county and state officials gathered Aug. 5 in Etna to celebrate investments in the state’s downtowns and Main Streets through the state’s Main Street Matters program.
Etna was among the beneficiaries of $17.2 million awarded for 56 projects in May. The borough received about $153,400 that will pay for the demolition of three borough-owned storage garages and an abandoned home and the creation of new parking spaces off Butler Street, along with stormwater improvements.
The addition of 14 parking spaces to an existing 11-space lot on Winschel Street will alleviate parking pressure in the downtown area, benefiting businesses and residents, borough Manager Mary Ellen Ramage said.
“It’s so hard,” she said. “We’re densely populated. It’s an old mill town. Everybody walked.”
Allegheny County is building on Main Street Matters through its own Main Streets Allegheny program, which recently announced $5 million in investment throughout the county. In Etna, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said $100,000 will go toward a business district gateway revitalization project that will transform Bridge and Freeport streets.
Previously in Etna, the county gave $1.1 million for an affordable housing development on Locust Street and $300,000 for the Etna Center for Community, which is nearing the end of construction.
“Investing in our business districts means investing in jobs, stronger economies and a community where everyone can live, work, play and spend time with their neighbors and their family members,” Innamorato said. “Revitalization does not mean losing what makes a place unique, but rather building on its legacy and building an Etna that is truly for everyone.”
Butler Street is Etna’s Main Street or, as Mayor Robert Tuñón called it, the “beating heart of our town.”
“Main Street is about people. It’s about these business owners who pour their entire lives and livelihoods into making great experiences, great products, great services, and we have to invest in that,” he said. “We are so grateful that the leadership in Pennsylvania and in the county, as well as here in the borough, recognizes that.”
The Shapiro administration believes Main Streets are the economic engines of Pennsylvania’s future, not just windows into its past, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said, speaking outside CoStar Brewing.
Better parking options remove barriers to shopping or dining, driving customers into stores and making customers want to return and recommend them, Davis said. Meanwhile, he said strong infrastructure means fewer weather-related damages and closures, sending the message that a community is open for business no matter the weather.
“Our Main Street Matters investments are about building a better environment that benefit everyone in our community, that strengthen local economies outside of big places like Downtown Pittsburgh and even Center City Philadelphia,” he said. “When businesses succeed they create jobs and that creates a safe and vibrant community.”
Among the Etna businesses officials visited was Cop Out Pierogies, which Carl Funtal of Shaler started in 2012, three years before he retired after 36 years as a police officer. He said the additional parking will be helpful.
“I’m very, very grateful for the Main Street Matters program,” he said. “This provides for our residents that they can just walk down, buy art, eat, have a beer. It also provides for our many out-of-towners that come and visit many of our shops and make a visit to the Mac Miller mural that we have down here. We get people from all over the country and all over the world for some of these things.”
Since its creation in 2024, the Main Street Matters program, administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development, has invested more than $34 million in 137 projects across the state. Another $20 million was included in the state’s 2026-27 budget.
Main Street Matters funding supports community revitalization efforts in planning, business support, aesthetic improvements and the increase of safety and security. Specific uses include planning activities, facade grant programs, business improvement grant programs, accessible housing programs and district development grants.
“That investment is giving communities like Etna resources they need to make their Main Streets better,” DCED Secretary Rick Siger said. “This funding is important because our communities need it and because people in Pennsylvania deserve great communities to live in. That’s our goal — a higher quality of life for citizens, a better home for businesses and innovators, and thriving communities.”
