Sep 14, 2014 3 min read

We can’t blame Greene County officials if they are feeling a little giddy lately concerning some positive economic development news.

We reported earlier this month the county has an agreement with an engineering firm to prepare the design for a new access road at the county airport as part of a plan to prepare properties fronting Route 21 for commercial development.

Pennoni Associates will be paid $177,500 to design an access road to run west, roughly parallel to Route 21, to the three, two-acre parcels that will be prepared for commercial development and east to the administration building and a new parking lot.

This is a project that was discussed for years, always with a caveat that this phase could not begin until that phase was completed.

And so it went.

Now, we are seeing results, particularly with the demolition of old hangars and the construction of a new T-hangar.

This paves the way for a major part of the project – constructing a road into the airport property that will be realigned with Murtha Drive to make a new four-way intersection at Murtha Drive and Route 21.

All this, of course, is the end game for the final phase, the development of parcels along Route 21 for retail and commercial development.

Coupled with this came the news last Wednesday the former Kyowa America Corp. building on Route 21 in Franklin Township, vacant for the last two years, was sold to a commercial real estate investment and development company.

Kyowa, which closed its plant there in July 2012, sold the building to SunCap Waynesburg LLC for $4.5 million. The property covers 13.3686 acres.

As Don Chappel, executive director of Greene County Industrial Development Inc., which owns the nearby EverGreene Technology Park, said, “The potential for another business to move in is a win for Greene County.”

We don’t know what plans SunCap has for the building, but let us offer this suggestion: With the number of gas and oil companies doing business in Greene County, the Kyowa building, with office space and an attached warehouse, seems an ideal location for one of these companies. We doubt rental fees would be an issue.

It is refreshing the economic development news of last week does not mention any plans by a fast-food chain to set up shop anywhere in the county.

Not that there’s anything wrong with restaurants. They certainly play a role in the overall economy of the area. But the bigger the project, the bigger the economic impact.

However, it still remains somewhat disconcerting Wal-Mart sits alone atop the Waynesburg Crossing retail site, which just happens to be across Route 21 from where the airport development is taking place.

Perhaps businesses are waiting for that new four-way intersection at Murtha Drive and Route 21 to be completed.

But no matter. We would be satisfied if there was just a sign on Route 21 with an arrow pointing up Murtha Drive toward Waynesburg Crossing and Wal-Mart.

Now, that could spur some development, even it was of the fast-food variety.