South Union quickly becoming business hub of city
SOUTH UNION – The township, most notably the Cherry Tree/Matthew Drive/Uniontown Mall area, has become the business hub of the county and future outlook for growth and prosperity is most encouraging, said township supervisor Robert Schiffbauer reading the state of the township address at the regular meeting Wednesday afternoon. Since the mid 1970s, the township’s economy has grown at brisk paces to become the business hub of the county, surpassing the cities of Connellsville and Uniontown, Schiffbauer said.
Since the 2000 census, the township has realized a steady growth rate in its population as new housing developments throughout the township take place and its commercial-retail segment, a bright aspect of the township’s future, grows.
“This type of growth is reflected in the middle to upper middle range of housing costs which further equates to the strong socio-economic makeup of our township,” said Schiffbauer.
And thanks for such a prosperous economy goes out to the supervisors themselves goes out to many people, including the supervisors who in the beginning knew to construct a township-wide sewage plan that laid the groundwork for future development, Schiffbauer said.
Menallen Township, the supervisor said, has taken tremendous strides in preparing for the future by sewering large portions of their township to accommodate the anticipated sizable amount of residential growth.
Schiffbauer said state Sen. Richard Kasunic (D-Dunbar) possesses the foresight to recognized the importance and potential in what the board of supervisors has been working for and that is to encourage and bring about economic development that results in new jobs and stabilizes the area’s economy.
And, it is essential that this cooperation experienced during the past two and a half decades continue in order to maximize opportunities for economic development in both the township and the county as well, the supervisor continued.
Within the past year, 250 jobs have been created with the opening of Home Depot, Ruby Tuesday, Movie Gallery and Panera Bread at the Widewaters Development along Matthew Drive.
Schiffbauer added that building permits for Golden Corral and Wendy’s have been issued for construction in the development complex.
But, the Fayette County Business Park, located between New Salem Road and Route 40, may hold the greatest source of economic development in Fayette County’s history, Schiffbauer said.
Plans are now being drawn up for two major retail development sites within the park. Armstrong Development of Pittsburgh is planning an 189,000-square-foot development and Cedar Brook Development of Akron, Ohio, plans to develop 389,000 square feet of commercial/retail use within the business park.
“If these two sites are developed in their entirety, there will be in excess of 1,200 new jobs created and this area of South Union Township will be transformed from the business hub of Fayette County to a regional shopping attraction with thousands of new shoppers coming to Fayette County,” Schiffbauer said.
Adjacent to the business park along Route 40, development in North Union Township is taking place in the form of a multi-autoplex dealership, Schiffbauer said.
“As time progresses, the potential to develop hundreds of acres will be realized,” Schiffbauer said.
The supervisors, partnering with Kasunic and more recently the state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, a number of important highway projects, such as the Walnut Hill Ramp Project, will finally be completed.
“These much-needed ramps will serve the public and help stimulate additional economic development such as the new Shop ‘n Save store that is now under construction along Walnut Hill Road in the new Walnut Hill Plaza Development,” Schiffbauer said, noting that the new plaza consists of 85,000 square feet of new retail business space.
He added that the Walnut Hill ramps will make it possible to finally develop a near 129-acre site owned by Gabriel Brothers along Walnut Hill Road and the Uniontown bypass. The ramps will be completed no later than July 2006.
Because of the ramps, coupled with the completion of the Mon Valley Expressway between the township and West Virginia, it will only be a matter of time before the Gabriel property becomes another major economic development attraction, Schiffbauer said.
The widening of Matthew Drive to four lanes and additional ramps at the McClellandtown bypass interchange will improve traffic flow at the intersection of Route 21 and Matthew Drive, the most traveled intersection in the county, according to Schiffbauer.
The supervisors and U.S. Rep. John Murtha secured $1 million in funding for the upgrade and an additional $400,000 in federal transportation highway funds for the upgrading of New Salem Road .
and to help construct the Matthew Drive Extension. It will directly access the Fayette County Business Park.