STRATEGY 100O 15 counties support expansion project

Project will seek investors for development of 1,000 acres of industrial and business park sites.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- Fifteen northwest Pennsylvania counties have endorsed Mercer County's Strategy 1000 project, increasing the odds that the project will attract state grant money.
Mercer County commissioners announced at their Chief Clerk's meeting Tuesday that the Northwest County Commissioners Association has decided to endorse the project.
Strategy 1000, started in 1999 by Penn Northwest Development and the Mercer County Regional Planning Commission, seeks to develop 1,000 acres of industrial and business park sites near the intersection of Interstates 80 and 79.
Penn Northwest Executive Director Larry Reichard said that over time the project is expected to create 8,000 to 10,000 new jobs and a $250 million payroll in Mercer County and in the region.
Money magnet
Reichard said the project is intended to attract more than $300 million in new investment and generate $13 million in projected new local and state tax revenues.
He said Tuesday's resolution will "jump-start this effort."
Commissioner Michele Brooks commented that state funding for such projects is "very competitive" and that such a regional endorsement increases the odds of success.
The counties are members of the Northwest County Commissioners Association, an outgrowth of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. The group has sent a letter to Governor Ed Rendell asking him to support state funding for the project.
Counties participating in the group, in addition to Mercer, are Erie, Crawford, Warren, Forest, Venango, Butler, Clarion, Armstrong, Indiana, Jefferson, Elk, McKean, Potter, Cameron and Clearfield.