Feb 10, 2026 By Garrett Neese 3 min read

A mixed-use development in Fayette County is a step closer to being shovel-ready.

The planned Thompson’s Crossing development in North Union Township is getting $7 million for necessary infrastructure through the federal appropriations bill signed into law last week.

The 57-acre project will be in the Northgate Highway area.

County officials envision it eventually housing retail, office space and residential units.

“It’s a key site within the county, so it’s got great access on multiple fronts,” said Fayette County Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Andrew French. “So I would imagine that once we break ground, and people see what we’re doing, that there’ll be tremendous interest in locating in the park.”

The new development could be a significant economic catalyst, said French and county Commissioner Scott Dunn.

They compared it to the 300-acre development on the opposite side of Route 40 in South Union Township, where a vacant piece of property was transformed into a retail hub generating property taxes for the county.

With no more room to develop on that space, Dunn sees the new site as a continuation.

“It’s more of a mixed-use campus, something that really hasn’t been done in Fayette County, so we’re excited about that,” he said. “We have a housing need, so this solves that. There’s additional space for businesses, and it builds the tax base.”

Work began on the project in 2019, when the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority purchased the 57 acres on the back end of the Mt. Macrina property from the Sisters of St. Basil.

In a release, U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said he had worked to make sure the county got the money it needed for critical development priorities.

This phase of the project is estimated to create total labor market spending in excess of $21,854,704, according to an economic model developed by the project consultant, Aspire Grant & Development, LLC.

“This funding represents a significant investment in Fayette County’s future,” Reschenthaler said in the release. “Thompson’s Crossing will help create new economic opportunities, strengthen infrastructure, and position the region for long-term growth.”

The $7 million in federal assistance is being leveraged with $3.5 million the project received from the state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program from Govs. Wolf and Shapiro, French said.

It’s being matched with a loan secured through the county’s infrastructure bank.

The combined grant funds “will definitely complete a substantial portion of the infrastructure that’s needed at the site,” French said.

Along with excavating and grading, the Redevelopment Authority will add roads, water, sewer and broadband before working with private developers on the individual lots.

The eventual number of tenants is still up in the air, French said. Still in the beginning stages of being prepared for infrastructure, the site hasn’t been subdivided. Most sites in the South Union park wound up being two to three acres, French said.

He expects construction to begin later this year.

“We’ve been doing our due diligence in terms of completing our designs and specifications and conceptual plans for the site, so we have those ready and prepared,” French said. “It’s just a matter of relooking at those and seeing what that initial scope of the project will be.”