Starpointe receives $1.5M state grant for infrastructure work

Michael Bradwell
Observer Reporter

Starpointe, the business park in Hanover Township, is receiving a $1.5 million state grant for infrastructure work through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

The announcement, made by state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, is for development and infrastructure work that will include 1.5 million cubic yards of earthwork and the installation of electric and phone conduits, gas and water lines, streets, sidewalks, curbs and other components of the park.

Dan Reitz, executive director of Washington County Council on Economic Development, which is in charge of development and sales at the 1,200-acre park, said Thursday he will meet with the park’s engineers next week to determine how to proceed with use of the funding. WCCED also received a $1 million grant for Starpointe earlier this month in Local Share Account funding provided by slot machine revenue from The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.

Reitz said money from both funding sources is earmarked for development of the third phase of the park, which is targeting access to an additional 100 acres for sale to companies.

When WCCED held its annual meeting in late October, President Richard White noted only four lots remain of the 18 developed for the first two phases.

Site preparation is currently underway in Starpointe for a 507,000-square-foot, 90-bay truck distribution center to be built for Indianapolis-based Scannell Corp. When completed later this year, the center will be leased by Scannell to a third-party operator. The distribution center, the largest single building construction project in Washington County in nearly 50 years – was identified earlier this year at a Washington County commissioners meeting as being related to the Shell ethane cracker project in Beaver County.

Reitz said Thursday he’s seeing heightened interest in the park from companies, much of it related to potential operations related to the Shell plant, which is only a 20-minute drive from Starpointe.