Mercer Co. - Industry experts from across Pennsylvania gathered at The Hampton Inn and Suites in Grove City Tuesday morning for an environmental summit to share their plans about revitalizing parts of Mercer County. 

During the summit, developers shared ways to cleanup abandoned properties that may carry pollution risks, also known as brownfields.

Rod Wilt, Executive Director for Penn-Northwest Development Corporation said  their primary goal is to provide an opportunity for existing local companies to expand their business. But developers still want to attract new businesses.

" [We want to get the brownfields]  to the point where they can be either put back into industrial, which would be the lowest level, to commercial,  and ultimately the cleanest sites would be repurposed for residential." Wilt said. 

Most of the vacant brownfields that were once toxic grounds have been cleaned up.

Wilt told 21 News they want to transform about half a dozen areas for economic development. Areas such as the Jackson Center Commerce Park, the Westinghouse facility in Sharon, and the Broadway Corridor in the southern part of the county.

Economic leaders are still weighing the legal considerations, but they hope to use state and federal dollars to start the redevelopment process sometime in the near future.