The Johnstown Redevelopment Authority was incorporated by the City of Johnstown following World War II. Pennsylvania Cities prompted the State Legislature to create the Urban Redevelopment Authorities Act of 1945. The mission of an Urban Redevelopment Authority is to eliminate blight and dangerous conditions. The Authority is formed by the local governing body and operates independently thereafter both in its business dealings and with respect to debt which it may incur.


The Johnstown Redevelopment Authority exists and operates for the public purposes of the elimination of blighted areas for residential, recreational, commercial, industrial, or other purposes, to provide a decent living environment and adequate places of employment for the citizens of the Johnstown community. The mission of the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority is to undertake urban renewal and the continued revitalization of the City of Johnstown, using unified public and private partnerships while engaging citizens in a community vision for growth.

Throughout its 50-plus years of existence, the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority has played a vital role in helping to make Johnstown a vital thriving community. It has had a hand in everything from flood recovery efforts to oversight of the City Parking Authority in the 1990s to ownership of the Wastewater Treatment Plant. With the dawning of the 21st Century, the Authority has taken great steps in renewing and revitalizing the City of Johnstown through the diversification of its economy and the reclamation of blighted and abandoned areas to restore the community’s economic and social fabric.

The Redevelopment Authority works in concert with the City of Johnstown, the Johnstown Partnership, State and Federal Agencies, and non-profit organizations to help Johnstown renew and revitalize. As the economic and infrastructure needs of the City change and grow with time, the role of the Authority is still to prevent blight and unsafe conditions using the tools and programs available to meet the City’s goals and objectives.