LSA a window of opportunity for Brockway Glass site
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Ryan Schwotzer explains his company’s plans to redevelop the former Brockway Glass site during the Local Share Account hearings in Washington on Tuesday.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Aaron Miller with The Dreamers Compay speaking during the Local Share Account hearings in Washington on Tuesday.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Gary Weinstein, right, president and chief executive officer at Washington Hospital, and Louis Panza, Mon Valley Hospital CEO, speak during Tuesday’s Local Share Account hearings in Washington.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Rocco Magrino speaks about plans to redevelop the former Brockway Glass site in Canton Township during the Local Share Account hearings in Washington on Tuesday.
Ryan Schwotzer gave his regards to Brockway Tuesday morning. And a pitch for $800,000.
“We plan to build a new industrial building that would attract four to five companies, creating 100 jobs,” Schwotzer, president of the Peters Township real estate firm Crossgates Inc., said during his presentation before the Washington County Local Share Account board.
He was seeking funding for a redevelopment project on the site of the former Brockway Glass plant, which closed more than 30 years ago. It sits forlornly along Interstate 70 in Canton Township, near the Washington line.
The project – a private-public endeavor of Crossgates and the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County – will likely involve relocation of storm and sanitary sewers, and construction of a retaining wall and a 135,000-square-foot building/warehouse, with loading docks and parking for industrial and manufacturing purposes.
Dilapidated metal structures and a sand silo, however, will have to be removed first. Rob Phillips of the Redevelopment Authority said that should occur in the spring.
Asked by a board member for a projected timetable to begin leasing, Schwotzer said it should be late 2019 or the first quarter of 2020.
This project got a much-needed boost in August, when Running Brooke II Associates, a general partner of Crossgates, received a $1.5 million grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
Tuesday was the second and final day of the 11th annual LSA hearings. The process enables entities across the county to plead their cases for funding for four categories of projects: economic development, community improvement, public interest and job training. Hearings last five minutes: two for presenters, three for board questions.
Funds come entirely from gambling revenues at The Meadows Casino. An estimated $7 million is available this year for 68 project requests, which total of $18.4 million.
The LSA board then recommends projects and forwards them to the county commissioners, who accept or reject the choices before passing them on to the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Funding is usually sent out in midsummer.
Twenty-four presentations were made Tuesday morning, and included a joint pitch from each president and chief executive officer of Washington County’s two independent hospitals: Gary Weinstein of Washington Health System and Lou Panza of Mon Valley Hospital.
Their request centered on patient safety and infection prevention. “We require sterilizer equipment,” Weinstein said. “We’re at the end of the life of our sterilizers and so is Lou. We want to be in a position to say if we are a strong local independent hospital, you’ll get the best patient care.”
Panza added: “This is one of the most important items at any hospital. This is critical.”
Members of the Monongahela Cemetery were among the early presenters Tuesday. They are seeking $61,443 to restore their historic chapel, saying they’ve raised $69,429 in private donations. The estimated restoration cost is $130,872.
“A lot of people use the facility in addition to church groups,” board member Richard Bucchianeri said. “Boy Scouts come here, the VFW comes here.”
Strikingly beautiful stained glass is among the chapel’s features.