Dec 17, 2017 7 min read

When Planet Fitness gym opened in early spring this year at Park Place at the Meadows, developer Dave Biafora had promised some additional in-line retail stores in the building adjacent to the gym on Wildflower Drive. Since then, four businesses have opened with a fifth preparing to open early next year.

The recent additions include: Nutrition Pit, a supplier of nutritional, sports and bodybuilding supplements; Crossroads Physical Therapy; Pruce Dental; Glazed & Confused, an ice cream and doughnut sandwich shop; and Vintage Grace Boutique or “VGB,” which features contemporary clothing and custom made jewelry. The final of the five shops is Uncle Koko’s Pizzeria, which posted on its website last week that it will open Jan. 6.

But Biafora, principal of Metro Property Management, the Morgantown, W.Va., company that is developing the mixed-use site that straddles North and South Strabane townships along Route 19 north, isn’t finished.

During a brief telephone conversation Wednesday, he said 2018 will be another year of residential and commercial construction in Park Place.

In the first quarter, plans include the construction of a 12,000 square-foot outparcel in front of Planet Fitness that will include a yet-to-be-named 5,000 square-foot Chinese buffet-style restaurant with remaining space for other retailers. Occupancy is expected to be completed by August or September.

Metro will also build another 20,000 square-foot structure across from the BFS convenience complex and in front of the development’s original retail strip for additional offices, restaurants and retail with individual spaces ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet.

On the residential side of Park Place, Biafora said the first phase of townhouses and apartments that opened earlier this year are at 97 percent occupancy. In the first quarter, construction will begin on Phase 2 for 88 additional two- and three-bedroom units that will be priced between $1,300 and $1,400 per month.

MCC adds space

MCC International, a subsidiary of Austria-based ESW, has added 10,000 square feet to its foundry building in Cecil that will put it on the beam for large scale I-beam construction by its customers. The company made the capital investment to meet growing demand worldwide for large bi-metallic spun cast sleeves used in metals production facilities.

MCC’s new melting facilities feature a vertical spin caster that can produce bi-metallic spun cast sleeves in diameters up to 60 inches and in lengths up to 44 inches. The sleeves can weigh up to 13 tons.

“This significant upgrade allows us to use the most modern technology while improving worker safety and operating efficiencies at the same time,” said Trevor Dunthorne, MCC International’s president and CEO. “With our new equipment, we’re able to supply the world’s largest beam mills in North America, Europe, Asia and South America with rings they can use to roll the largest section I-beams used in the construction industry.”

According to a press release, by manufacturing metallurgically superior bi-metallic spun cast rings to replace static cast mono block rings, MCC is able to provide mill builders and I-beam manufacturers with a product that can deliver superior performance over a longer lifespan.

MCC International specializes in the casting and finish machining of high grade, centrifugally cast ferrous and non-ferrous products, including rolling mill sleeves, bearing parts, bi-metallic gear blanks, bushings, nuts and valve bodies. The castings are used in a variety of applications, including steel mills, power transmission lines and elevators.

The company was founded nearly 60 years ago by William H. Miller as Miller Centrifugal Casting. Since 2009, MCC International has been a subsidiary of Austria-based ESW (Eisenwerk Sulzau-Werfen), a manufacturer of rolling mill rolls. ESW is headquartered in Tenneck, Austria, near Salzburg.

Advanced Surgical honored

Advanced Surgical Hospital in Washington the area’s leading physician owned, regional orthopaedic hospital, has been named a 2017 Guardian of Excellence Award winner by Press Ganey for the fifth consecutive year.

The Guardian of Excellence Award recognizes top-performing health care organizations that have consistently achieved the 95th percentile or above of performance in patient satisfaction.

Since opening the state-of-the-art physician owned orthopaedic surgery center in 2010, Advanced Surgical Hospital has won this prestigious Press Ganey award five consecutive times since 2013.

The award is a nationally-recognized symbol of achievement in health care. Presented annually, it honors clients who consistently sustained performance in the top 5 percent of all Press Gainey clients for each reporting period during the course of one year.

“To be recognized annually by Press Ganey reflects our commitment to providing consistent, quality care to our patients each and every day,” said Anne Hast, CEO of Advanced Surgical.

Washington native a

ids software project

Washington native Ernest Lindner was on a research team from the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh that developed an innovative computational software toolkit that was recognized by R&D Magazine as one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace in the past year.

Lindner helped to develop the award-winning National Risk Assessment Partnership Toolset, a software package that includes 10 science-based computational tools that predict environmental risk performance of geologic carbon dioxide storage sites.

NRAP, led by NETL, brings together expertise from other contributing Department of Energy national laboratories: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The computational tools in the NARP Toolset represent the most complete suite of models ever assembled to assess the geological integrity and environmental risk performance of CO2 storage sites related to potential fluid leakage and ground motion. These tools support industry and provide technical insight to regulatory stakeholders as they design and implement effective geologic carbon storage projects to sequester large volumes of CO2.

Known as “the Oscars of Innovation,” the R&D 100 Awards recognize 100 of the brightest and boldest technologies and services of the year across nine categories. Since 1963, the R&D 100 Awards program has identified revolutionary technologies newly introduced to the market. Past winners have included sophisticated testing equipment, innovative new materials, chemistry breakthroughs, biomedical products, consumer items, and high-energy physics spanning industry, academia, and government-sponsored research.

Consulting firm opens office

Lake Superior Consulting, an integrated consulting firm providing engineering, design and integrity management solutions to clients in the oil and gas industry, has opened a new office at Four Grandview Circle, Suite 201, Southpointe, and has named John Henning, P.E., as regional engineering manager. LSC, which is headquartered in Duluth, Minn., has been playing an increasing role in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 2012 and has an existing office shared with parent company, Shawcor, in Sewickley.

“This location will position us to serve the Marcellus/Utica region with a robust, on-location team,” said LSC President Phillip Powers. “This market is experiencing growth in the natural gas sector and LSC is poised to contribute to the infrastructure projects that support this advancement.”

Henning, formerly of Dawood Engineering, brings nearly 15 years of experience working in the energy sector in the northeast and across the nation, and is responsible for hiring a local team and is actively seeking new talent.

To meet clients’ increasing needs, LSC is adding several positions in the Canonsburg office, including mechanical, civil/structural and electrical engineers at all levels, drafting professionals and operations leadership.