Oct 31, 2002 By April Straughters 3 min read

CENTERVILLE – The Bucks County company that raised the hopes for new houses, businesses and sewer extension in Centerville Borough failed to close on the sale of land owned by Hugo Iacoponi along Route 40. In April, Building Services of America (BSA) of Dublin, Bucks County brought promises of building more than 100 single family homes, 25 town houses and retail stores and offices on the 76-acre site located across from the municipal building along Route 40, provided the borough extended sewerage service there.

The sale was schedule to close earlier this month but it did not, according to Councilwoman Susan Zebley.

Zebley said she does not know why BSA did not close on the sale, but said it had nothing to do with the lack of sewerage there.

She said the borough and BSA worked together on the matter and the borough decided that the Centerville Sanitary Authority would provide sewerage to the new development. She said the project was expected to be complete in 18 months to two years, which was acceptable to BSA. She said funding through several government agencies was in place, but hinged on the close of the sale.

Zebley said borough officials were disappointed that the plans for the development fell through.

“It’s a big blow to the borough,” she said.

BSA planned to build homes anticipating the Mon Fayette Expressway, a 24-mile expressway corridor that will connect Centerville to communities south of Pittsburgh, will make the Centerville area an attractive bedroom community for people who work in Pittsburgh.

In addition to stalling the expected growth of the borough, Zebley said the development’s failure also puts the borough back to square one in dealing with an ongoing sewerage problem in the area.

Zebley said the borough hoped to address the problem by “piggy backing” off the sewerage extension to the proposed development. She said they had hoped to pick-up about 57 houses and several businesses in the immediate area through that extension.

The borough is now working with the borough’s sanitary authority to extend sewerage to the municipal building, Hugo’s Restaurant and Sisters’ Scissors, which was the original plan before talks of the housing development. She said she hopes to connect the businesses to the Richeyville plant.

“We have to clear up that mess. Public sewerage for everyone would be better. But for now, we have to address the problem there,” she said.

Zebley said the sewerage extension is a necessity because of an on-going problem with sewage leakage in that area. She said the Washington County Health Department was recently contacted about sewage leakage at Hugo’s Restaurant, but the restaurant was given a “clean bill of health.”

She said the sewage problem in that immediate area has been “on and off” for years and has to be addressed.

Zebley also said the borough should begin taking steps toward bringing sewerage to the general area for future growth.

“Sewerage is expensive, but if we are going to expand here, we have to have it. We just have to have it.”

Zebley said borough officials will meet with the Centerville Sanitary Authority at 5 p.m. on Tuesday to discuss the matter.