Monday, October 27, 2003
LindenPonte technical park gets a tax break to attract developers.
THE VINDICATOR
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- City commissioners, focusing on economic development in the city, have given final approval to a number of projects ranging from a restaurant to an industrial warehouse.
A proposed Bob Evans Restaurant to be built in Hermitage Square on South Hermitage Road got approval Thursday for a property subdivision to provide the land it needs and approval for its land development plan showing a 5,200-square-foot restaurant.
Earlier efforts to build at that location were stymied by a city zoning regulation that said buildings couldn't be built within 50 feet of a road.
City commissioners changed that regulation this summer to allow buildings to be erected within 25 feet of a right of way, clearing the way for the restaurant project.
Leali Bros. Excavating got approval for a land development plan showing a 50,000-square-foot warehouse on Broadway Avenue.
The warehouse is being built to provide storage space on nearby Llodio Road for CCL Containers, a manufacturer of aerosol cans for the health and beauty product industry.
Financial matters
In a related matter, commissioners also approved a $150,000 loan at 3-percent interest from its revolving loan fund to help finance the $651,000 warehouse project.
Commissioners also voted to create a planned technical park-2 zoning district in the LindenPointe technical park on South Hermitage Road.
The effort sets aside 71 acres of the 117-acre park, limiting what can be built there but also giving all new construction on that land a substantial break on municipal property taxes.
Developers will get a 100-percent break on new construction for three years, a 75-percent break in the fourth, a 50-percent break in the fifth and a 25-percent break in the sixth.
Development in that area will be limited to manufacturers of items such as electronics, data processing equipment, computer hardware and software, communication equipment, scientific and medical instruments, precision optics, robotics and pharmaceuticals.
Also on agenda
In other business, commissioners:
UApproved a 45-acre subdivision for the construction of 26 single-family homes and a condominium complex at the Pierce Bluffs development on Lamor Road.
UApproved a small subdivision for the construction or a 30,000-square-foot National City Bank branch office in the parking lot of the Shenango Valley Mall just off Pa. Route 18.
UApproved a land development plan for St. John the Baptist Carpo-Russian Orthodox Church to build a new church and fellowship hall on Morefield Road just off Route 18. The total project is 12,000 square feet.
UVoted to buy a 20-acre parcel at Lamor and North Keel Ridge roads for $231,035 for a 60-unit senior citizen apartment complex being developed by Mercer County Housing Authority.
gwin@vindy.com