In July 2026, Governor Josh Shapiro's administration approved the first three projects under Erie's City Revitalization and Improvement Zone. For a program that Sen. Dan Laughlin had worked toward for about ten years, it was the moment the zone began to fund real construction.
The three projects
The approvals cover the $58 million transformation of the Renaissance Center into the Trust Hotel, the $10 million expansion of the Bayfront Parking Ramp, and the $37 million construction of the AC Marriott Hotel, just east of Scott Enterprises' Hampton Inn and Suites on the bayfront.
Together, $20.6 million in CRIZ funding will go toward the three projects, which add up to nearly $105 million in development.
Who pays for it
Erie CRIZ Authority Executive Director Brian Polito put it plainly: the funding comes from taxes that businesses in the zone already pay, so the CRIZ does not create a new tax burden. Businesses and property owners in the zone still pay every tax they owed before.
Worth the wait
Scott Enterprises President Nick Scott said the approval meant a lot to him personally. He bought the Harbor Place property 25 years ago, built the first phase, and spent roughly two decades waiting for the next step. In his view, the wait was worth it.
The long view
The program runs for 30 years. Sen. Laughlin said that by the end of it, the CRIZ will have rebuilt Erie. Polito said the Authority is projected to receive more than $750 million in CRIZ funding over those 30 years, which would generate about $3 billion in development across the city. That figure is a projection, and the actual amount depends on how much new tax revenue the zone produces.
The fourth approved project, Flagship City Commons, followed a month later. Read about the topping-out ceremony.