Editing Altoona, Pennsylvania (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Altoona Knickerbocker.JPG|thumb|Knickerbocker Tavern]]
[[File:UPMCAltoona.jpg|thumb|[[UPMC Altoona]] serves as a regional hub of the [[University of Pittsburgh Medical Center]] system.]]
Historically, the sole economic force driving the growth of Altoona into a City was the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] (PRR). While the various local railroad shops still employ over a thousand people, they are no longer the driving economic engine of the area as they once were.

The top field of employment in Altoona and the metro area is the healthcare industry. Facilities include: [[UPMC Altoona]] with its many local facilities that employ thousands, [[HealthSouth|Healthsouth Rehabilitation Hospital]] and its several local facilities, [[Veterans Health Administration|James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center]], dozens of doctors offices, and over 20 nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Altoona serves as the corporate home to [[Sheetz]], a rapidly growing [[convenience store]] and gasoline chain with over 600 locations in the Northeast.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Number of Sheetz locations in the USA in 2023 |url=https://www.scrapehero.com/location-reports/Sheetz-USA/ |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=ScrapeHero |language=en}}</ref>

Altoona also serves as the headquarters to the candy company [[Boyer (candy company)|Boyer]]. Famous for their [[Mallo Cup]], the company was founded in 1936, 42 years after the founding of [[The Hershey Company]] in [[Hershey, Pennsylvania|Hershey]].

Another massive employer is the retail and service industries. Altoona is the linchpin of the Tri-City Region. Its location along [[Interstate 99#Pennsylvania|I-99]] draws from a large trade area over a wide geographic area that extends to [[State College, Pennsylvania|State College]] and [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania|Johnstown]] and over {{convert|40|mi|km}} south along I-99 past [[Interstate 70 in Pennsylvania|I-70]].

Altoona draws the retail customers into the region because of its centralized location. Retail areas include:
* Downtown region.
* The 17th Street corridor including what remains of the Station Mall.
* Certain large zoned sections along Logan Boulevard and 6th Avenue.
* The [[Logan Valley Mall]] which is a major retail staple of the area.
* Approximately {{convert|3.5|mi|km}} stretch of Pleasant Valley Boulevard and Valley View Boulevard as they converge into Plank Road, consisting of numerous stores and shopping centers. This area plus Route 764 which runs through Altoona and the northern and southern suburbs is known as the "Green Banana".
* The Logan Town Centre which is the newest shopping center in the area and sits directly next to I-99.

===Industry===
As is typical in many [[Rust Belt]] cities, the economic downturn of the railroad resulted in the closure of many of the downtown's landmark stores and industries. The simultaneous rise in prominence of the automobile shifted commercial development to the suburbs of Altoona. However, through recent revitalization efforts, Altoona's downtown maintains a significant level of economic vitality and hosts few office and residential vacancies.{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}} The downtown maintains a significant focus on [[Walkability|pedestrian-oriented development]], as evidenced by the presence of more pedestrian bridges and underpasses across the railroad tracks (connecting the two parts of downtown) than automobile crossings.

[[Penn State Altoona]] has purchased several downtown buildings, including the former Playhouse Theater building, the six-story Penn Furniture building, and the former [[WRTA (AM)|WRTA]] building. The university has turned them into the Devorris Downtown Center, the Aaron Building and the Kazmaier Family Building. Recently, [[Sheetz]] has added another building to Penn State Altoona called The Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence on the former site of a department store behind the Amtrak Station. The university provides a flow of resources into the downtown, aiding in revitalization efforts. As an example of the university's value to the downtown's economy, the installation of the Blue Lot near the Wolf Court Building has improved the economic attraction of downtown by offering up to three hours of free parking. A bike path connecting the Campus to Downtown Altoona has also been built.