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Business park in Findlay to triple in size
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Findlay supervisors have approved a $20 million plan to prepare Clinton Commerce Park for six new industrial and commercial buildings.
The expansion approved May 11 will triple the space available in the park, an additional 1.5 million square feet of warehousing and distribution space.
The Allegheny County Airport Authority will extend roads and utilities to 361 acres at Clinton Road and Interstate 376 (Parkway West), just north of Pittsburgh International Airport.
Plans include grading; lengthening the development's main road, Sweeney Drive, by 2,044 feet to reach a 459,000-square-foot building pad; and constructing a new, 4,050-foot road off Sweeney Drive to access five building pads totaling as much as 990,000 square feet.
Each of the six buildings could range in size from 60,000 to 400,000 square feet, said Randy Forister, the airport authority's senior development director.
"We're excited to move forward on phase two, and based on our projections, it could generate as many as 1,000 jobs in our region, so it's a positive thing for everybody," Mr. Forister said.
An existing 8-foot-wide asphalt walking trail will be extended along one side of each roadway.
Supervisors permitted the use of explosives as part of land grading activities but required that the township receive ample notice of blasting.
The land preparation could start late this summer and take up to 18 months, Mr. Forister said.
The 5-year-old commerce park already contains 729,000 square feet of space in three buildings occupied by Flabeg Solar US, Knepper Press, American Tire Distributors and FedEx SmartPost.
The businesses have created roughly 700 jobs, Mr. Forister said.
"Phase one has certainly been a success," said township Supervisor Tom Gallant. "We hope phase two is as well."
The airport authority has received a $10 million state grant to help pay for the infrastructure work.
A portion of the remaining cost may be funded by the township, county and West Allegheny School District as part of a tax incentive program.
The first phase of the commerce park was built under a 20-year tax-increment financing agreement, which allows part of the tax revenue generated by the development to be diverted to pay off the infrastructure work that made the development possible.
"We probably will follow a similar formula for phase two of the project," Mr. Forister said.
Findlay manager Gary Klingman said the commerce park expansion will benefit the township by creating jobs and producing property and employment tax revenues.
First Published May 19, 2011 5:23 am
