POTTSVILLE - July 12, 2010 - The Business in Our Sites Program administered by the Commonwealth Financing Authority recently awarded a $134,750 state grant to the Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) for engineering and design work on a travel plaza to be located just off Exit 119 of Interstate 81 at the Highridge Business Park.
Business in Our Sites is a $300 million statewide loan and grant pool, created by the issuance of bonds. Grants are made available to help communities develop shovel-ready sites in order to build the local and regional economy and ultimately create new jobs.
The travel plaza will be situated on a 36-acre site located at the intersection of Highridge Park Road and Keystone Boulevard.
The completed project will serve local workers, park visitors and interstate highway travelers. It is expected to house a truck plaza with parking for at least 120 tractor trailers, a convenience store, a nationally-franchised restaurant and a hotel. A privatized rest area is planned to meet both PennDOT and Federal Highway Administration requirements.
"The work of members of our legislative delegation, particularly the direct efforts of Tim Holden and Neal Goodman with PennDOT and the support of Dave Argall, were instrumental in making this grant possible," said SEDCO president Frank J. Zukas.
"The travel plaza is projected to create 150 jobs," noted state rep. Neal Goodman (D-123), "and in this difficult economic climate that is extremely important to the people of Schuylkill County."
In keeping with a formal agreement that PennDOT and SEDCO entered during the Ridge administration, PennDOT agreed to construct an interchange at mile marker 119 of the interstate in exchange for SEDCO's pledge to develop a travel plaza that would include a "public rest area." Since then SEDCO's efforts to secure a private developer have been unsuccessful. The SEDCO board decided to jump start development of the property by creating up to five building pads on the site so as to diminish potential developers' uncertainty about taking on the project. The estimated cost of permits and the sitework required to create multiple "pad sites" on the property is $3.49 million.
According to SEDCO, the Highridge Business Park sees more than 1,000 daily truck movements in support of logistics operations undertaken by resident companies who employ about 2,300 local workers within buildings comprising four million square feet of space in the 2,000-acre park.
