Sitting right on one of the largest lakes in the world, the Erie region is rich in maritime culture, boasting beautiful tall ships, a deep naval history and miles of the state’s only beaches.

But since the Erie Coke Plant shut down in 2019 after decades of environmental violations, an opportunity opened along Erie’s bayfront, leaving the door open for new development in the region’s maritime hub.

On Wednesday, the Erie Western PA Port Authority, who owns the site, heard a proposal from Gem City Shipbuilding, an organization aiming to transform the property into a U.S. Navy shipyard.

“We look forward to hearing more from them on what the real next steps are. For the board, it was all about learning more about what’s being said out there in the community with this Gem City Shipbuilding company,” said Julie Slomski, Executive Director of the Erie Western PA Port Authority.

‘Let off easy’ – Erie Coke sentenced to $700,000 fine in violation of Clean Air Act

In the presentation, Gem City Shipbuilding’s spokesperson said the project could cost anywhere between $250 million to $750 million, funded both privately and publicly.

As for what it could bring to Erie, one resident said it could bring jobs to the area.

“This would be a really good thing for Erie. We need this industry. As you know, our population is declining and we need something to buoy that. We’re here on the Great Lakes, and I think this is the perfect opportunity to do it,” said Grant Filbeck, Erie County resident.

Furthermore, Gem City Shipbuilding said the shipyard could offer educational opportunity, boost community development and help the country get a leg up on China, who they said are building more naval ships than the U.S. at a faster rate.

But taking on the challenge of revitalizing the Erie Coke site is easier said than done.

“It’s a heavily contaminated site. The DEP just released their report last week, they’re going to continue monitoring and obviously sampling there on the site, but it’s going to take quite a while there to clean the site up,” said Slomski.

Slomski said it could take decades to clean up the site, and there’s still a long road to remediation.

Public weighs in on future of Erie Coke site

But the naval shipyard proposal has already caught the eye of a U.S. Congressman, who said it’s feasible if put together the right way.

“Everything that I look at is, ‘How many jobs? What does it do for our community? Does it bring revenue in or does it take revenue out?’ And in this case, for Erie, we can get back to where we were before,” said U.S. House Representative Mike Kelly.

Kelly said the next steps are putting together a solid plan that looks good, feels good and offers a great return for Erie.

If you would like to learn more about the Erie Coke site and where it stands, you can find more information here.

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