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Renting an Apartment in Coatesville
Coatesville, known as the Pittsburgh of the East, is the only designated city
in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,838 at the
2000 census.
History
Coatesville is home to the former Lukens Steel Corporation, which was bought by
the former Bethlehem Steel Corporation which was bought by the former the
Ohio-based International Steel Group (ISG) in 2002 which was bought by Mittal
Steel and then merged with Arcelor Steel to form the current ArcelorMittal Steel
company.
In 1911, the lynching in Coatesville of Zachariah Walker, a black man who killed
a white mill policeman, prompted the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) to investigate and called for an end to lynching
nationwide. Walker was dragged from a hospital, still chained to his bed, and
burned to death in front of thousands of witnesses in a field south of the city.
A memorial service one year later was attended by two people, according to a
contemporary Harper's Weekly.
Economic Struggles
Coatesville, like many Rust Belt cities and towns, has suffered as a result of
the shift from an industrial to a service-oriented economy.
Lukens Steel Example
Lukens Steel was the largest employer in Chester County in the 1960s, with over
10,000 workers. Forty years later, the largest employer in Chester County is the
Vanguard Group, a financial services firm also with 10,000 workers. Lukens Steel
was always a boutique steel producer, and continues to be one to this day.
However as with all other surviving domestic steel producers, it has, in order
to stay competitive with foreign steel, implemented much-needed efficiencies in
its production processes, thereby reducing the needed workforce to a tenth of
its former size. The steel plant continues to employ about 1,000 skilled workers
and will continue to do so.
As in many other economically-distressed communities, Coatesville struggles with
its crime rate. During the economic boom of the late 1990s, Coatesville began on
an ambitious redevelopment project, facets of which included the tearing down of
abandoned and dangerous public housing, new single family and townhouse
developments, a regional recreation center, and most recently, mixed use
projects that would include retail, office, and condominium housing, as well as
the renovation of the local Amtrak station.
The redevelopment plans have not been without controversy, including a five-year
eminent domain dispute with a local landowner in neighboring Valley Township. It
has been resolved without the need to seize the property, but it caused the
ouster of four incumbent City Councilpersons in the November, 2005 general
elections. These four new councilpersons, two of which are ordained Pentecostal
and Methodist ministers, caused further controversy with the firing of the city
soliciter, the resignation of the city manager (who negotiated with the Valley
Township landowner), and the departure of the assistant manager, police chief,
and city treasurer. With Chester County being a rapidly growing area, demand for
housing and recreation and retail facilities is growing in the region.
Coatesville is ideally positioned to accommodate this demand both because of
location and because of available property. The new properties, which would
either be luxury apartments or condominiums priced at $150,000 to $250,000,
would be targeted towards young executives in the Philadelphia area, and would
be located on parcels of land formerly owned by ISG, or on places in Coatesville
bought out by the city and torn down, starting in June, 2006.
Transportation
A general aviation airport, Chester County G O Carlson Airport, which allows
private and corporate aircraft to easily access the town, is located in
neighboring Valley Township. The airport is located about 2 miles west of the
center of town.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8
km˛ (1.9 mi˛). 4.8 km˛ (1.9 mi˛) of it is land and 0.53% is water.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 10,838 people, 3,940 households, and
2,580 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,261.9/km˛
(5,848.8/mi˛). There were 4,360 housing units at an average density of 909.9/km˛
(2,352.9/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city was 41.91% White, 49.15% African
American, 0.36% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.60% from
other races, and 3.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race
were 10.75% of the population.
There were 3,940 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 30.7% were married couples living together, 28.9% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 29.8% of all
households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who
was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the
average family size was 3.33.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.7% under the age of 18, 9.3%
from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there
were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,912, and the median income
for a family was $36,375. Males had a median income of $31,782 versus $24,774
for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,079. About 18.3% of
families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including
28.9% of those under age 18 and 15.9% of those age 65 or over.
Coatesville had 4360 housing units, of which 90.37% were occupied. Of the
occupied housing units, over 45% were owner-occupied.