Mon Valley Alliance awarded $2 million grant toward Barchemy expansion
The Mon Valley Alliance has been awarded a $2 million state grant to continue building out the Donora Industrial Park with the expansion of Barchemy, a chocolate and confectionery manufacturer.
Jamie Colecchi, CEO of the Mon Valley Alliance, said the money will be used to work with the Washington County Redevelopment Authority to construct a building on 12 acres of land in the industrial park, referred to as Ken Griffey Field, in honor of the former member of the famed Cincinnati Reds Big Red Machine baseball team of the 1970s.
“That land has been left undeveloped since U.S. Steel left,” Colecchi said. “We have an opportunity to build a building for one of the companies down there.”
The grant is through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, a state grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects.
Barchemy was visited in August by Neil Weaver, acting secretary for the state Department of Community and Economic Development, as part of a tour of businesses in which Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration made investments through the DCED’s Neighborhood Assistance Program.
“They’re expanding. They’re growing,” Colecchi said of Barchemy. “The intent is they will build out the inside specific to their use, but we’ll prepare the site and the shell of the building. (The funding) will represent a third to a quarter of the overall cost.”
The Donora Industrial Park is one of three in which the development is overseen by the Mon Valley Alliance, along with the Alta Vista Business Park in Fallowfield Township and Speers Industrial Park. The 400-plus acre park houses about 15 companies.
Colecchi expressed gratitude to the governor and state Sen. Camera Bartolotta for their efforts in securing the grant, as well as the Washington County commissioners for their support.
“I am excited to help continue to reshape the Mon Valley and to support the Mon Valley Alliance in that initiative,” Bartolotta said. “This funding, as well as grants that were recently awarded to the 46th District, will help boost the local economy all across Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Mon Valley Alliance does really transformative work, and I am pleased this grant will aid in their efforts.”
Colecchi said the timeline for construction is about 18 months.
“We’re looking at spring of 2024 to have everything completed,” he said.