South Union Township supervisors approve rezoning for Menards development
Mike Tony | Herald-Standard
The South Union Township Board of Supervisors at a public hearing Wednesday approved a request by Menards to rezone property on which the company plans to build its first store in Pennsylvania. “We’re just glad to see you’ve come here to South Union Township,” Supervisor Robert Schiffbauer told a Menards representative at the hearing.
Mike Tony | Herald-Standard
Menards real estate representative Tom O’Neil addressed the South Union Township supervisors before their vote to grant his company rezoning approval at a public hearing Wednesday, further detailing the company’s plans for the property conveyed to it by the Fayette County Board of Commissioners in September.
SOUTH UNION TWP. – Wisconsin-based home improvement company Menards took another step toward opening its first Pennsylvania store when township supervisors unanimously approved a zoning change.
But a store is only part of what Menards, Inc. has in mind for the property.
Menards real estate representative Tom O’Neil told supervisors that 20-plus acres of the 76.81 acres they purchased in the township would be developable for retail and commercial purposes.
“(T)hat will, in essence, almost guarantee that we’re going to have additional development in our township because of Menards’ decision to locate here in South Union Township,” Supervisor Robert Schiffbauer said.
Menards, Inc. purchased property off Matthew Drive near Walmart from the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority for $1.764 million in September. On Wednesday, township supervisors agreed to rezone the land from M-1 light industrial to B-1 general business.
O’Neil said the company needs to fill a large ravine off Matthew Drive.
“There’s a lot of earth-moving that needs to occur as part of this project,” O’Neil said. He said previously that the company plans to move at least 1 million cubic yards of earth and build at least a half mile of new roads from the extension of Matthew Drive west into the site when they build the approximately 200,000-square foot store.
Opening a store in the greater Uniontown area made sense to Menards given its recent expansion eastward, O’Neil said.
The contract between the redevelopment authority and Menard, Inc. stipulates that a store must be opened on the site by the end of 2022 unless there is a delay beyond the company’s control.
O’Neil told supervisors that “realistically” the store won’t be open until early 2022.
Menards has about 315 stores in 13 or 14 states, O’Neil previously told the redevelopment authority, adding that the company typically invests $10 million into new stores, resulting in about 125 to 150 jobs with an equal split between full-time and part-time openings.
“We’re just glad to see you’ve come here to South Union Township,” Schiffbauer said. “It’s very important to us.”
Menards wasn’t the only retail chain whose plans to set up shop in South Union were noted at the supervisors meeting.
Township Engineer John Over said a permit was issued this month for Boot Barn, a western wear retailer, to locate in the vacant space next to Harbor Freight Tools along Matthew Drive.
Boot Barn currently has more than 250 stores across the U.S., but none in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio or any northeastern states, according to the store’s website.
In other business, Supervisor Jason Scott said that township residents were mailed notification that the township had raised the monthly sewage bill from $20 to $25, a move made effective Jan. 1 that Scott said was an effort to try to raise more money to address storm and sanitary sewer problems.
“So hopefully we can build up a surplus and if the grant money doesn’t come through, we can continue to do the job in house,” Scott said.
Scott also gave an update on efforts to address flooding issues that stem from storm sewer shortcomings on Ruble Drive and Wiggins Lane.
According to Scott, $30,000 from a Local Share Account allocation funded the first phase of the sewer improvement project to focus on that area of the township.
“We were able to enlarge the pipe size and the catch basin,” Scott said. “(We’re) hoping that now we can keep the water coming from the rear of the homes on Hague Lane and the trench that it was intended to stay in instead of overflowing the road and going through people’s backyards.”
That portion of the project should be completed by the end of next week, Scott said, adding that the township is pursuing grant funding for further, more expensive phases of the project.