State officials have narrowed the list of projects they are considering for a new funding program designed to prep industrial sites for development.
- The program, announced last fall by the Shapiro administration, drew more than 100 applicants seeking a total of more than $236 million.
- Officials are now focusing on a short list of 32 applicants — though their initial requests of nearly $70 million in all still surpass the $10 million budgeted for the program so far, according to documents provided by the Department of Community and Economic Development.
- Called PA Sites, the program is designed to address a shortage of shovel-ready industrial sites in Pennsylvania.
Who made the cut: Locally, projects in Franklin and Lebanon counties
- The Franklin County Area Economic Development Corp. is seeking $4.6 million to develop the last remaining site in the Wharf Road Industrial Park in Washington Township.
- The agency hopes to get the 20-acre site ready for construction of three industrial buildings, two at 30,000 square feet and one at 60,000, said Michael Ross, president of the Franklin County EDC.
- As a former quarry, the site known as Lot 5 is more challenging, Ross said. “There’s more sitework than you would typically find for 20 acres.”
- Ross is confident that, once it is ready, Lot 5 will attract a tenant.
- The Wharf Road park is home already to companies like fiber manufacturer Fil-Tec and specialty tubing supplier Pro Tube.
- A bakery had been eyeing Lot 5 but the Covid-19 pandemic brought the project to a halt, Ross said.
- The Lebanon Valley Economic Development Corp. is seeking $5 million for work related to construction of a new facility for Lebanon-area manufacturer PRL Industries, according to Susan Eberly, president of the Lebanon Valley EDC.
- PRL, a defense contractor making submarine components, is looking to consolidate operations in the new facility, which would be about 84,000 square feet, Eberly said.
- The total project cost is about $16.9 million, Eberly said. The potential state funding would cover utility hook-ups, excavation and grading at the site, which is at 445 Boyd St. in Cornwall borough.
- PRL would add 30 jobs at the site and retain 138, she added. “We’re looking forward to hopefully being funded.”
- The developer is Cornwall Properties, a firm affiliated with Lebanon-based Byler Holdings LLC.
Is there a waitlist: Yes. It includes projects in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and York counties.
- Officials in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County, are seeking nearly $1.3 million to prepare a site for a public works building, according to DCED documents.
- Citing the pending application, township manager Ray Palmer declined to disclose details.
- The Dauphin County Redevelopment Authority applied for $400,000 for a project involving restoration of the former Bowser Furniture building in downtown Hummelstown.
- Officials in Warwick Township, Lancaster County, applied for $900,000 toward a $1.1 million project to improve the intersection of Newport Road and Route 501.
- The intersection is near the entrance to Rock Lititz, the live-entertainment industry campus.
- The York County Economic Alliance is seeking $5 million for a project involving York-based defense contractor Precision Custom Components.
- Precision is planning to erect a 12,000 square-foot building in York so it can expand construction of parts for submarines, according to documents submitted with an application for funding from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, or RACP.
What’s next: Applicants on the short list have until March 1 to submit additional details about their projects.
- DCED expects to award funding by early summer.
- The Franklin County EDC’s request of $4.6 million would cover the full cost of its project, Ross said. But he was not expecting the cost to be entirely borne by state funds.
- “We’re shooting for as much as we can get with the understanding that it would be reduced to a lower level,” he said
- The agency has not ruled out awards for projects on the waitlist.
- But that would depend on whether the legislature approves Gov. Josh Shapiro’s request to raise $500 million in additional funding through bonds.
- As part of its budget proposal for the next fiscal year, the Shapiro administration is seeking $15.4 million for debt service to support the bond issuance.
Note: This story has been updated to include comments from the Silver Spring township manager.
