Work on Fort Pitt Site Begins

Washington PA Observer-Reporter
4 February 2010
By Michael Bradwell,
Business editor
mbradwell@observer-reporter.com

Stoehr Development has begun construction of the first of three planned light industrial, multitenant, flex buildings at the former Fort Pitt Bridge site in Canonsburg.

The project was announced by William McGowen, executive director of the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County on Wednesday. The project's site plan was approved in November by Canonsburg Borough Council.

The new 57,750-square-foot facility will be divided into seven sections with loading docks in the rear. Construction of the $4.1 million building is expected to be completed by August.

Stoehr Development principal David Stoehr acknowledged later Wednesday that it's a tough time to be constructing new industrial facilities.

"You've got to roll the dice," he said.

He said he currently has no tenants for the new building or a 130,000-square-foot structure he refurbished on the site, but he said he believes tenants will come once the first building is completed.

Plans for the flex-style building call for 30-foot ceilings, making it ideal for warehouse and distribution, Stoehr said, adding that he will also add office space. "It's not just a big pit building," he said.

What makes him confident about the Fort Pitt Business Park project, Stoehr said, is another 40,000-square-foot building he built in Meadowlands Industrial Park a decade ago.

"It's been 100 percent occupied since we built it in 1999," he said, adding that he sees that building as a "litmus test" for his new project.

"I get three to four quality calls a week" from companies seeking space, he said. "But small to medium-sized companies need to move now. They don't pre-plan (for new space) that far ahead."

As for potential target markets, Stoehr said the oil and gas industry and its various service companies, which have been moving into the area over the past several years to work on the Marcellus Shale strata, are among industrial companies that are always looking for space.

Stoehr Development purchased the 24-acre Fort Pitt Bridge property in 2007, using a $3.3 million Business in Our Sites loan. The redevelopment authority, using a portion of a $1.9 million Business in Our Sites grant, remediated the site and demolished 320,000 square feet of the 450,000-square-foot Fort Pitt Bridge complex. Stoehr preserved and refurbished an existing 130,000-square-foot structure at the Meadow Lane entrance.

Following the environmental remediation and demolition, the authority constructed a 450-foot-long access road to serve all three buildings with the remainder of the Business in Our Sites grant. Upon completion of all three new buildings, it is anticipated that up to 500 new jobs will be created.

McGowen said Wednesday there are plans to construct a pedestrian walkway along Chartiers Creek this summer, using a $221,000 state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant, to serve the Fort Pitt Business Park development and residents of Canonsburg.