In bowling parlance, one could say Lancaster sets ’em up and York knocks ’em down. The rural Central PA strongholds are rapidly outgrowing the hyphen or backslash that often connects the sister cities as a region.
In Lancaster, we’ve chronicled its resurgence on a number of fronts. There are hot, new options for downtown dining and lodging, as well as the newly opened Lancaster County Convention Center. Farmers markets and farm-to-table options are becoming the norm, not the exception.
Also, tried and true agriculture is driving innovation along the energy front, while community colleges are seeing record enrollments. Lancaster also can boast of some interesting technology companies, like Flycast, which delivers video and audio content to portable devices.
For exciting companies, York’s where it’s at. Harley Davidson decided to stay and Church and Dwight set up shop here, but the real excitement lies in new technology from energy-efficiency experts Pace Controls, or the grease analysis kits from Maintenance Reliability Group–two highly touted young companies expected to flourish. Meanwhile Australian syringe-maker Uniflife added 33 jobs at its York County facility, York College is eyeing expansion that could include a business incubator.
With more and more tourists stopping by the Pennsylvania Dutch Visitors and Convention Bureau office in downtown Lancaster and preparations for high-speed rail connecting Harrisburg and Lancaster, and with York’s ability to accommodate 27 million square feet of commercial development, the sister cities are among the state’s hottest places to be for tourists, businesses, and residents.
Source: Keystone Edge
Writer: Joe Petrucci
