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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Velocity Network Relocates Operations Center To Erie, Pennsylvania

10/25/2016
Velocity Network, Inc. (VNET), an IT solutions and support company, will relocate its operations to Erie, Pennsylvania. The company will create 53 new jobs over the next three years.

Currently serving business clients with fiber optic internet, VNET plans to expand into the residential market. To accommodate this growth, the company will purchase and renovate a 40,000-square-foot building in the City of Erie’s Renaissance District that has been vacant for more than 25 years. VNET plans to invest $5,300,704 in the project. The company has committed to the creation of 53 new, full-time jobs over the next three years, and to the retention of an existing workforce of 55 employees.

“We believe in the necessity to drive development in Erie through the bolstering of the region’s urban core,” said VNET President/CEO Joel Deuterman. “Pennsylvania is a strong state with vibrant cities, and thanks to the state’s financial commitment to progress, Velocity is poised to grow – and grow the region – smartly, quickly, and deliberately to create future job growth.”

As an incentive, VNET received a funding proposal from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development that includes a $225,000 Pennsylvania First Program grant, $159,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits to be distributed upon creation of the new jobs, and $20,000 in WEDnetPA funding for employee training. The company has also been encouraged to apply for $2.25 million in low-interest loans from the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority.

The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team in collaboration with the City of Erie and Corry Area Redevelopment Authority.

“Velocity Network’s decision to expand operations in a blighted area represents more than just significant business growth – it will be accompanied by positive change and job opportunities that will greatly benefit Erie’s Renaissance District, and ultimately, the entire region,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “The company’s longer term plans include further partnership with the City of Erie to transform additional buildings in the surrounding area. VNET’s success, as well as its steadfast commitment to fostering community betterment, is to be commended.”

“The VNET project is important to developing and revitalizing our downtown. It creates an opportunity for reuse of a long vacant space and helps to bring jobs and sustainability to our central business district,” said Erie Mayor Joseph E. Sinnott. “It follows exactly with what we are looking for in implementing our downtown master plan.”

“It’s an honor to assist an entrepreneur like Joel Deuterman relocate and grow his business in the City of Erie,” said Corry Area Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Richard Novotny. “In VNET’s case, Joel is re-urbanizing his operations from the suburbs to the city’s core, and in doing so, he has re-energized investment in an entire district of the city. VNET’s investment will be the first of many to transform Erie’s urban core.”

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