After concern that McKeesport could lose two of its businesses through eminent domain to make way for a $5.7 million fly-over ramp, city officials announced this morning that Eat'n Park and Rite Aid will remain on Lysle Boulevard.

A letter to Mayor Jim Brewster from Eat n' Park Hospitality Group executives states the restaurant is committed to the city for another 10 years.

The restaurant is receiving Allegheny County development funds for renovations and an expansion to the restaurant, according to Bethany Bauer, community development director in McKeesport. She said upgrades would be made the interior and exterior of the restaurant, which employs about 40 people.

How much those improvements will cost and what it is costing the county is uncertain, she said.

Rite Aid is changing its entrance and utilizing a vacant lot -- which it also owns -- behind the store, she said.

It is good news that both of those business are staying in the city, she said.

"You don't want to hurt or eliminate a business in town when times are tough," she said.

"Those businesses provide services to our residents. We have a lot of senior residents who live Downtown and can walk to Eat'n Park for a meal or to Rite Aid for their medicine," she said.

Groundbreaking for the flyover ramp is expected soon, she said, which will cause Eat'n Park and Rite Aid to each lose an entrance to their business.

Robinson-based Mosites Construction was the low-bidder for the ramp, which will bypass CSX railroad tracks and link Lysle Boulevard with the RIDC Riverplace Industrial Center of McKeesport. The project, which will cost $5.7 million, will be paid for through federal stimulus funds.

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