Oct. 19—Jason Rigone could only marvel at the transformation that took place over the last 12 months as he peered down across the vacant countryside in East Huntingdon Thursday.
He was surveying what is now more than 78 acres of flat ground ready to serve as Westmoreland County's newest site for potential economic growth.
"One year ago this was a wooded hillside," Rigone said as officials gathered to mark the completion of the Westmoreland Distribution Park North Phase II development.
"This will enable us to continue to attract business to Westmoreland County," said Commissioner Doug Chew of the $6.5 million project to expand the industrial park about four miles southeast of the I-70/Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange.
Westmoreland Distribution Park North now includes five parcels including two that are occupied. Philips Respironics Sleep and Respiratory Care opened a 260,000-square-foot warehouse at the site in 2016, which at that time boasted as about 250 workers. The company slashed as many as 100 jobs at the site in 2021.
The county also built a district judge's office at the park.
The yearlong project to create three additional parcels involved the moving of 750,000 cubic yards of dirt, installation of stormwater ponds, implementing erosion and sediment control measures and relocating a gas line to create three construction-ready parcels. The largest lot is just over 38 acres and includes a 21-acre pad for potential construction of an building. The other two — one 27 acres and another 13.4 acres — also are ready for development, Rigone said.
County leaders said the expansion is expected to streamline future growth by eliminating the need for buyers to have to ready their own sites for development.
The marketing efforts have already started.
"We've had recent significant interest in the largest pad and had people tour the site," Rigone said.
With completion of the project, the county's industrial park system now is home to 175 companies that employ nearly 10,000 workers and generate about $7 million annually in tax revenue for the county, officials said.
While some vacancies remain throughout the industrial park system 19 locations, space is filling up and officials expect to announce next month the sale of a more than 30-acre site, the largest in the county's inventory, at Commerce Crossing in Sewickley.
"We have property available, but we are running out. A vast majority of our sites are sold or leased and we had to create sites to keep up with demand," Rigone said.