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CANONSBURG, July 19, 2006 - State Sen. J. Barry Stout and state Rep. Tim
Solobay announced today that $5.2 million in funding from the state Business
in Our Sites program will help to redevelop the Fort Pitt Bridge Works and
breathe new life into Canonsburg.
The Redevelopment Authority of Washington County will receive a $1.9 million
grant and a $3.3 million loan to turn the Bridge Works into an industrial
park. The Fort Pitt Industrial Park will consist of six buildings providing
approximately 225,000 square feet office and warehouse space to small and
medium sized businesses. The project is also expected to create 500 new
jobs.
"The Fort Pitt Bridge Works is a great symbol of Canonsburg's past," said
Stout (D-Washington/Greene/Allegheny/ Beaver/Lawrence. "With this state
funding and the improvements that are on the way, the site will become a
symbol of our future as well."
“This is such an important project for Canonsburg,” Solobay said. “Right now
the site is little more than an eyesore and a liability to the community.
This redevelopment project will bring the site back to the vibrant hub of
jobs that it once was.”
The site is located at the intersection of Cottage and Meadow Lane in
Canonsburg and was once the fabrication center for the Fort Pitt Bridge
Works. The redevelopment project is estimated at nearly $20 million.
Additional project funds include an investment of $14.6 million by developer
David Stoehr.
The state funding was awarded by the Commonwealth Financing Authority, a
seven-member board created to administer funding from Gov. Ed Rendell’s
economic stimulus package passed by the General Assembly in 2004. In
addition to the Business in Our Sites program, which helps to restore
brownfields to economic viability, the authority also oversees the state’s
First Industries Fund, Tax Increment Financing Guarantee, New PA Venture
Capital Investment, New Pennsylvania Venture Guarantee, PennWorks, Building
PA and Second Stage Loan programs. Each of the programs is aimed at using
targeted state investments to attract private capital for economic
development in a variety of regions and industries. More information about
the CFA and the various economic development initiatives it administers is
available online at www.newpa.com.
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