COMMUNITY, RETAIL, FINANCIAL SERVICES WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2017
PROGRESS II — SECTION A
Area counties tapping into their economic strengths
Contributed
Construction is under way at Rock Springs Business Park, which includes a 30,000-square-foot, three-story building. The business park, located in Chester at the former TS&T pottery site, is being developed by the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle.
By MARK LAW Staff writer
Harrison County is banking on the oil and gas industry, Jefferson County is touting the investment of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Brooke County is waiting to reap the benefits of a new bridge across the Ohio River. and Hancock County is hoping the construction of the Shell cracker plant in Monaca, Pa., will result in development in the northern part of the county. Each county has its strengths and weaknesses in economic development. Location plays a big part in how that development is playing out. Weirton Mayor Harold Miller said the city sits perfectly for economic development, with railroad and river access, U.S. Route 22 and the nearby Pittsburgh International Airport. Pietro Fiorentini USA recently announced it is moving forward with plans to purchase 26.4 acres of land at the Three Springs Business Park to construct a facility to provide equipment to the oil and gas industry. Officials believe the company made the decision based on cracker plants being built to the
north and south and the oil and gas industry activities in the TriState Area. The plant will provide an initial 41 jobs, with plans of up to 150 employees once fully operational. Miller said the city hired a director of development. “We wanted someone on site to work with residents and businesses,” he said, adding there already are regional efforts with the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle and the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission. Miller said other economic development prospects may occur within the city on Three Springs Drive and Freedom Way. “We are in a real good position for economic development. We are continuing to grow the community,” he said. Harrison County Commissioner Dale Norris said 2016 was a slow year in the county with the downturn in the oil and gas industry. “It slowed everything else down,” he said. Norris expects the economy to ramp up in 2017 with the oil and gas industry expanding drilling operations. He noted the county was able to make some infrastruc-
ture improvements, especially with water and sewer lines. The county is in the process of developing a master water and sewer plan to provide the utilities to unserved areas of the county. He also said a new energy facility soon will arrive in Harrison County. For nearly a year, the Harrison County Community Improvement Corp. has been working with Cadiz to bring a large corporation to the area. Houston-based EmberClear is working to build a 1,000megawatt natural gas-fired electrical power generation facility. The new generation plant will be built on about 60 acres of the Harrison County Industrial Park. Dale Arbaugh, president of the Harrison County CIC, said construction of the plant will bring 500 jobs for three years, while the completed plant will support around 30 permanent jobs for
Harrison County residents. Facility construction is scheduled to begin in 2018, with the plant ready for commercial operation in 2021. Norris said a mine safety training center also is under construction in Cadiz, with the first of three phases nearly completed. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Mine Safety Training Center is provided through the Division of Mineral Resources Management. Eric Heis, spokesman with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said the new $3 million structure will allow the construction of training rooms, conference rooms and additional office space. The site will house a mine safety staff and oil and gas safety staff permanently stationed there. In Steubenville, Mayor Domenick Mucci said there was a See DEVELOPMENT Page 2A Á