Since the turn of the century, Coatesville has invested in redevelopment, encouraging private projects.
It has torn down public housing and encouraged new single family and townhouse developments.
A new Marriott Courtyard hotel, built along Route 82 on the outskirts of Coatesville, opened in May 2012.
The city has major opportunity to redefine itself as 4 out of 5 of its census tracts are eligible to receive several federal and state economic development grants for economic redevelopment and population health.
As of January 2017, city leadership has yet to produce the required action plans to appropriately seize these opportunities.
The latest activity involves hedging all economic development on the downtown area only, partnering with Wells Fargo amongst others without an effort to complete a population health plan for the city first, a formula for gentrification.
A lack of consensus actions has plagued the city throughout the new millennium and is the reason for a cycle of starts and stops, the most popular involving an eminent domain dispute regarding the attempted creation of a city owned golf course.
See Coatesville Growing Greater www.coatesvillegrowinggreater.org
The redevelopment plans have generated controversy.
The city was involved in a 5-year eminent domain dispute with a local landowner in neighboring Valley Township.
It was resolved without the need to seize the property, but displeasure with the events resulted in the city voters turning out four incumbent city councilpersons in the November 2005 general elections.
Two of the four new councilpersons are ordained Pentecostal and Methodist ministers, respectively.
The city council fired the city solicitor, and accepted the resignation of the city manager (who had negotiated with the Valley Township landowner).
The assistant manager, police chief, and city treasurer also resigned.

A series of arsons took place in the city from 2007 to early 2009.
A December 2008 fire at a Strode Avenue home resulted in the death of Irene Kempest, an 83-year-old World War II Holocaust survivor.
A  fire the following month on the 300 block of Fleetwood Street burned 17 row houses, causing $2 million in damage and leaving dozens of people homeless.

By March 2009, police had arrested six suspects in the fires.
A total of nearly 70 fires occurred during this period.
On June 8, 2010 one man, pleading no-contest due to mental illness, was sentenced to a 60-year prison sentence for five of the fires, one of which resulted in Kempest's death.
Another man pleaded guilty to the Fleetwood Street fire and eight others, receiving a sentence of 12.5 to 25 years with an order to pay $2.5 million in restitution.
Twenty of the nearly 70 fires over the two-year span remain unsolved.

In 1969 Lukens Steel forged steel beams for the World Trade Center to be constructed in New York City.
Some of these beams, known as "trees", remained standing after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.
Ten of the "trees" that remained were transported to Coatesville on April 15, 2010.
They are to be used as a part of the proposed National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum.

The Coatesville Historic District, Clement Atkinson Memorial Hospital, High Bridge, Abram Huston House and Carriage House, Lukens Historic District, Lukens Main Office Building, National Bank of Coatesville Building, and Terracina are resources listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Since the turn of the century, Coatesville has invested in redevelopment, encouraging private projects. It has torn down public housing and encouraged new single family and townhouse developments. A new Marriott Courtyard hotel, built along Route 82 on the outskirts of Coatesville, opened in May 2012. The city has major opportunity to redefine itself as 4 out of 5 of its census tracts are eligible to receive several federal and state economic development grants for economic redevelopment and population health. As of January 2017, city leadership has yet to produce the required action plans to appropriately seize these opportunities. The latest activity involves hedging all economic development on the downtown area only, partnering with Wells Fargo amongst others without an effort to complete a population health plan for the city first, a formula for gentrification. A lack of consensus actions has plagued the city throughout the new millennium and is the reason for a cycle of starts and stops, the most popular involving an eminent domain dispute regarding the attempted creation of a city owned golf course. See Coatesville Growing Greater www.coatesvillegrowinggreater.org
The redevelopment plans have generated controversy. The city was involved in a 5-year eminent domain dispute with a local landowner in neighboring Valley Township. It was resolved without the need to seize the property, but displeasure with the events resulted in the city voters turning out four incumbent city councilpersons in the November 2005 general elections. Two of the four new councilpersons are ordained Pentecostal and Methodist ministers, respectively. The city council fired the city solicitor, and accepted the resignation of the city manager (who had negotiated with the Valley Township landowner). The assistant manager, police chief, and city treasurer also resigned.
A series of arsons took place in the city from 2007 to early 2009. A December 2008 fire at a Strode Avenue home resulted in the death of Irene Kempest, an 83-year-old World War II Holocaust survivor. A  fire the following month on the 300 block of Fleetwood Street burned 17 row houses, causing $2 million in damage and leaving dozens of people homeless.
By March 2009, police had arrested six suspects in the fires. A total of nearly 70 fires occurred during this period. On June 8, 2010 one man, pleading no-contest due to mental illness, was sentenced to a 60-year prison sentence for five of the fires, one of which resulted in Kempest's death. Another man pleaded guilty to the Fleetwood Street fire and eight others, receiving a sentence of 12.5 to 25 years with an order to pay $2.5 million in restitution. Twenty of the nearly 70 fires over the two-year span remain unsolved.
In 1969 Lukens Steel forged steel beams for the World Trade Center to be constructed in New York City. Some of these beams, known as "trees", remained standing after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks. Ten of the "trees" that remained were transported to Coatesville on April 15, 2010. They are to be used as a part of the proposed National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum.
The Coatesville Historic District, Clement Atkinson Memorial Hospital, High Bridge, Abram Huston House and Carriage House, Lukens Historic District, Lukens Main Office Building, National Bank of Coatesville Building, and Terracina are resources listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Coatesville, Pennsylvania