$4 million given toward project for brownfield in McKees Rocks
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An additional $4 million in state funding will allow the developer of a brownfield site in McKees Rocks to move forward with plans to construct a $25 million to $35 million business park.
The first phase of the project is proposed for a 33-acre site under the McKees Rocks Bridge and east of Island Avenue. The land is the site of tracks, repair shops and maintenance buildings for the long-bankrupt Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad.
"I cannot say enough about the support we have gotten from local, county, state and federal officials on this project," Craig A. Rippole, president of Trinity Commercial Development, said Monday.
Trinity, based in Emsworth, has plans for 385,000 square feet of new construction and renovation of 76,000 square feet of existing buildings on what eventually will be a 52-acre business park. Site preparation and groundbreaking for the first new structure should begin this year, Mr. Rippole said.
The Commonwealth Finance Authority has agreed to loan Greenville Commercial Properties, a subsidiary of Trinity, $3.1 million under its Business in Our Sites program. The term of the 3 percent loan is 20 years. The money will be used for property acquisition and site preparation, including a stormwater management system.
McKees Rocks received a $985,000 PennWorks grant to help cover the $1.3 million cost of bringing new water and sewer lines to the brownfield site.
"Brownfield" land has been occupied by industrial users, and the property requires expensive environmental cleanup before new development can take place. The P&LE project had previously received a $600,000 environmental assessment grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said the redevelopment project offers the potential to create almost 1,200 new jobs. "This will be a great boon to McKees Rocks and the surrounding community," Mr. Fitzgerald said.
State Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, praised the cooperation between Trinity and local officials. "This redevelopment is a key component in the revitalization efforts of the borough," he said. "At full build-out, the flex space-industrial business park will accommodate light-industrial, office, technology and distribution businesses -- opportunities that will bring new development to the borough."
Mr. Rippole touted the transportation advantages of the project's location. It has good highway access to Route 65 and Interstate 79, is close to the Ohio River and directly adjoins two working railroads, the CSX and the Pittsburgh & Ohio Central.
Mr. Rippole grew up in nearby Stowe and graduated from Sto-Rox High School. "It is a good feeling to do something so positive for your hometown," he said.
First Published January 31, 2012 12:00 am
