In bowling parlance, one could say Lancaster sets 'em up and York knocks 'em down. The rural Central PA strongholds are rapidly outgrowing the hyphen or backslash that often connects the sister cities as a region.
In Lancaster, we've chronicled its
resurgence on a number of fronts. There are hot, new options for downtown dining and lodging, as well as the newly opened Lancaster County Convention Center. Farmers markets and farm-to-table options are
becoming the norm, not the exception.
Also, tried and true agriculture is driving innovation along the
energy front, while community colleges are seeing
record enrollments. Lancaster also can boast of some interesting technology companies, like Flycast, which delivers video and audio content to portable devices.
For exciting companies, York's where it's at. Harley Davidson decided to stay and Church and Dwight
set up shop here, but the real excitement lies in new technology from energy-efficiency experts
Pace Controls, or the grease analysis kits from
Maintenance Reliability Group--two highly touted young companies expected to flourish. Meanwhile Australian syringe-maker Uniflife
added 33 jobs at its
York County facility, York College is eyeing
expansion that could include a business incubator.
With more and more
tourists stopping by the Pennsylvania Dutch Visitors and Convention Bureau office in downtown Lancaster and preparations for
high-speed rail connecting Harrisburg and Lancaster, and with
York's ability to accommodate 27 million square feet of commercial development, the sister cities are among the state's hottest places to be for tourists, businesses, and residents.
Source: Keystone EdgeWriter: Joe Petrucci