SHARON Castings site lacks OK from the state

Some additional groundwater sampling and a new survey are required.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- It's taking a bit longer than anticipated to get state environmental clearance to redevelop the former National Castings site on Dock Street, but the 24 acres should be ready for marketing in early 2004.
The Shenango Valley Industrial Development Corp., a nonprofit development agency, owns the property and had hoped to secure final Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection approval in September to begin marketing to potential developers.
David Grande, SVIDC executive director, said the state wants a couple more things to be done before giving a final clearance, however.
The DEP is insisting on a second groundwater sampling because the location was the site of heavy manufacturing for decades, Grande said.
The DEP also wants a new property survey, he said.
There is no plan for any additional environmental remediation there, Grande said, noting that initial testing showed that all levels of any materials considered to be hazardous were below standards that would require any cleanup work.
The state requires that redevelopment of old industrial land include an environmental study to find any contaminants that might pose a hazard to workers' health.
The new timetable shows that final DEP clearance should be in hand and the SVIDC can begin marketing efforts in the first quarter of 2004, he said.
Prospects
Grande said his agency has some prospects, including one industrial manufacturer looking for a six-acre site.
There are three or four others who have expressed interest in the location in the past and they will be contacted again, Grande added.
The SVIDC isn't interested in getting warehouse or similar low job-creation projects on the site, he said, explaining that the agency has set a minimum target of creating at least 100 jobs there.
The National Castings Division of Midland-Ross Corp. closed its plant in the mid-1980s, and the SVIDC bought the land in 1998 through its Sharon Abandoned Land Acquisition and Development Corp.
All the National Castings buildings were razed and a lot of cleanup work completed about two years ago.
Grande said between 60 and 70 percent of the site was on concrete slabs which prevented any contamination of the soil beneath them.
Part of the site has a sewer problem that must be corrected, he said, referring to delays in getting a blocked sewer line cleaned out because the manhole providing access to the affected area is buried and work crews have had a difficult time locating it.
Legacy Commons
The National Castings site, referred to as Broadway North, is the final phase in the SVIDC's Legacy Commons project launched six years ago to redevelop a total of 83 acres of brownfields along the Broadway Avenue industrial corridor stretching from Wheatland through Hermitage and into Sharon. Broadway becomes Dock Street in Sharon.
Most of the land south of the National Castings site already has new tenants on it.
The effort has created about 100 jobs so far and the goal is to eventually create more than 300.
The SVIDC has spent between $4 million and $5 million to buy, clear and prepare the 83 acres for new development, with the state picking up $2.75 million of that cost through grants.
gwin@vindy.com