NEW CASTLE Consultant suggests county reconsider development plans

He recommends Lawrence County look to develop along Pa. Route 79.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County is going to have to look east if it wants to see any significant economic growth, according to a real estate consultant.
Most of the land now available for development is near New Castle, said Stuart M. Patz, a real estate consultant from Herndon, Va., hired to study the county's potential for business and industrial growth.
However, Patz said future growth should be targeted to the Pa. Route 79 corridor in Lawrence County because businesses on Route 79 in Butler and Allegheny counties are looking for more affordable space.
State Route 79 passes through Plain Grove Township in Lawrence County, near the Butler and Mercer county borders.
Patz met with Lawrence County commissioners and the county planning commission Thursday to discuss progress on his study, which will be finished sometime in the next month.
Planning: Linda Nitch, executive director of the Lawrence County Economic Development Corporation, said the study will help her agency direct its efforts when seeking spots for new business and industrial parks.
Nitch said Patz's suggestion to move east will take time because the necessary infrastructure is not there yet. Only portions of U.S. Route 422 in Shenango Township have the necessary water and sewer lines
She noted that zoning regulations for townships further east will have to be reviewed before anything can be done.
"We need to find out whether or not those people agree that there should be a business or industrial park there," she said.
She said Patz's suggestions do differ from those of local officials looking for growth spots. County commissioners in Lawrence and Beaver counties have been focusing on Pa. Route 60 for growth trying to get sewer and water lines to those areas.
"Stuart is looking at things from a different perspective and trying to snatch growth from other areas. He's telling us to diversify," Nitch said.
Type of industry: Light manufacturing businesses make up a large portion of the businesses in the industrial parks in the county.
James Gagliano, county planning director, said Patz's report will be used as part of the county comprehensive plan to help identify growth spots, but that doesn't mean growth will follow.
"The cost is going to play a major role. It's not likely to happen anytime soon," he said.
Patz also expressed the importance of good schools and quality housing being in place before any large employers would consider an area.
Nitch said her agency will continue to market the spots available for development, particularly those designated as tax-free areas by the state through the Keystone Opportunity Zone program. And it will also look into some of Patz's suggestions for the eastern end of Lawrence County.
"We need to diversify," she said.
cioffi@vindy.com