After about two years of planning, Inch & Co. held a ceremonial groundbreaking for a $35 million sports complex in North York, a facility expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to the county each year and spark millions of dollars in economic impact.
The event yesterday drew more than 150 guests, including leaders from York-based WellSpan Health, which is putting its name on the complex.
Jeff and John Inch, brothers and co-founders of Inch & Co. focus mostly on multifamily development.
They have pursued the sports complex as something of a passion project, though it also captures what the Inches see as a booming market. “Youth sports is never going away,” said Jeff Inch.
Central Pennsylvania already is home to one large athletic complex — Spooky Nook Sports, which takes up more than 700,000 square feet in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County. But, Inch said, “There is enough room for everybody.”
What is it: The WellSpan Sports Complex is slated to rise on what was a football field for the former Central York High School, which moved about 20 years ago to a suburban site in Springettsbury Township.
The North York site is just off Interstate 83 and Route 30 near York city.
The complex will span about 250,000 square feet and feature basketball courts, volleyball courts, pickleball courts, a fitness center and a domed turf field that will be slightly larger than a football field.
The complex also will house orthopedic and sports medicine services from WellSpan. A WellSpan spokesperson declined to disclose the health system’s investment in the project.
“Our involvement with this project reflects our commitment to enhancing community health by bringing our orthopedic and sports medicine expertise directly to where it’s needed the most,” said Dr. David Vega, WellSpan’s chief medical officer.
The complex is expected to employ about 50 people, with another 20 to 25 working for vendors on the site, said Matt Marshall, who will be its general manager. The vendors could include apparel and food/beverage businesses.
Visitors, meanwhile, are likely to spend money at area restaurants and hotels, officials said.
“This facility is poised to be a major driver of growth and prosperity for York and the surrounding region,” said state Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, whose district includes North York.
What’s next: Construction is slated to begin in November and take about 14 to 16 months, Jeff Inch said.
A grant from the York County land bank authority covered the costs of demolishing the old football stands, baseball dugouts and other structures at the site.
Inch has also applied for a $3 million grant from the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
The engineering firm on the project is Landworks Civil Design, and the architect is Core Design Group.
The background: Inch & Co. is active in multifamily development and related businesses, including property management, real estate brokerage and maintenance.
The company recently started raising a $20 million fund to support apartment construction in Central Pennsylvania and the fast-growing Carolinas.
Inch & Co. had been planning to build a warehouse along Pennsylvania Avenue south of Route 30 in Manchester Township.
But in a ruling last month, a county judge upheld a legal challenge to the zoning for the project, which had drawn fierce opposition from neighbors.
Jeff Inch said the company has been busy with other projects and has not decided on its next steps for the Pennsylvania Avenue site.
“We’re exploring a bunch of options,” he said, not ruling out a legal appeal.
