Business Park

The Berkeley County Development Authority said Wednesday that it purchased 340 additional acres to expand Tabler Station Business Park and can now market the facility to attract some of the nation's largest industrial employers. Development Authority Executive Director Stephen Christian wouldn't reveal the purchase price, but indicated the economic development organization used the majority of a $2 million loan from the state Infrastructure & Jobs Development Council to buy the land.

It might take about $45 million to turn a large tract near Hagerstown into a technology business park, including the cost of building roads and utilities to support it, Washington County Public Works Director Joseph Kroboth III said Friday. But the payoff, over time, is expected to be large, Kroboth said. Besides a business park generating local industry and high-paying jobs, he said the project would create new tax revenue - possibly covering the government investment within 10 years.

A portion of Tabler Station Business Park will be used for parking for the Tough Mudder endurance series event scheduled for April 20 and 21 in southern Berkeley County. The Berkeley County Development Authority's board of directors agreed Wednesday to lease a portion of the business park for $10,000 for parking, authority Executive Director Stephen Christian said after the meeting. Organizers of Tough Mudder will use the area of the business park that has been used for parking for the Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House and Air Show, Christian said.

Farm crops could be planted and cattle could very well be pasturing in the near future on undeveloped portions of Tabler Station Business Park in Berkeley County. The Berkeley County Development Authority hopes to lease the available land, which now stands at about 580 acres, to a farmer while they continue to work to develop the property, Executive Director Stephen Christian said Wednesday. The development authority's board voted Wednesday to allow the group's business park development committee to interview two of the five interested parties who responded to a request for proposals, Christian said.

The Bowman Group has proposed a business park on 162 acres near Hagerstown Regional Airport, according to Washington County planning documents. The park would be on the southeast corner of Interstate 81 and Showalter Road. The proposed concept plan calls for 14 commercial lots ranging in size from 5 acres to 32 acres, planning documents state. The site is in the Highway Interchange zoning district, which allows for a wide range of business and industrial uses. County planning documents state the site would be a prime candidate for the new Office, Research and Technology zoning district.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com ZULLINGER, PA. - A former orchard in Zullinger might sprout new buildings early this year as a local development corporation continues to sell lots at the location of its pet project. The 12-lot Wharf Road Industrial Park between Waynesboro and Greencastle is home now to only one business: CAM Superline, a manufacturer of construction and hydraulic dump trailers. But officials with the Waynesboro Industrial Development Corp. feel that's about to change.

Office Suppliers Inc. is moving from Fountainhead Plaza to a new building in the Interstate 81 Business Park off Maugans Avenue, the company announced Friday. As part of the move, OSI will close its retail counter and focus solely on the commercial customers who make up the bulk of the business, said General Manager Don Ardinger. OSI's new masonry building, which will cost an estimated $2 million, will be next to a Hampton Inn that's also being built in the business park behind Taco Bell.

This Thursday brings an end to Fort Ritchie's 47-year history as a U.S. Army base and officially marks its transformation into the Lakeside Corporate Center at PenMar. The 638-acre base, nestled in the mountains of northeast Washington County, is starting a new life as a high technology business park and corporate training center. PenMar Development Corporation's 20-year plan calls for the former military communications facility, now quiet and mostly empty, to employ more than 2,000 people when fully developed.

A new publicly owned business park would give Washington County an edge in courting companies, which are demanding a quicker and quicker turnaround time for land and buildings to locate their operations, a county development official said Thursday. The Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission plans to encourage the development of such a park in 1999, Commission Chairwoman Suzanne Hayes told local leaders at a dinner at the Sheraton-Four Points Hotel. It was one of two new EDC priorities set for the year during the group's strategic planning conference earlier in the day, Hayes said.

Farm crops could be planted and cattle could very well be pasturing in the near future on undeveloped portions of Tabler Station Business Park in Berkeley County. The Berkeley County Development Authority hopes to lease the available land, which now stands at about 580 acres, to a farmer while they continue to work to develop the property, Executive Director Stephen Christian said Wednesday. The development authority's board voted Wednesday to allow the group's business park development committee to interview two of the five interested parties who responded to a request for proposals, Christian said.

A portion of Tabler Station Business Park will be used for parking for the Tough Mudder endurance series event scheduled for April 20 and 21 in southern Berkeley County. The Berkeley County Development Authority's board of directors agreed Wednesday to lease a portion of the business park for $10,000 for parking, authority Executive Director Stephen Christian said after the meeting. Organizers of Tough Mudder will use the area of the business park that has been used for parking for the Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House and Air Show, Christian said.

The Berkeley County Development Authority said Wednesday that it purchased 340 additional acres to expand Tabler Station Business Park and can now market the facility to attract some of the nation's largest industrial employers. Development Authority Executive Director Stephen Christian wouldn't reveal the purchase price, but indicated the economic development organization used the majority of a $2 million loan from the state Infrastructure & Jobs Development Council to buy the land.

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has approved a $400,000 grant to Washington County for the construction of an access road to serve the Mount Aetna Technology Park, according to a joint news release from U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin. The grant will be used to widen a .61-mile section of Yale Drive to four lanes, the release said. The grant brings the total of ARC money involved in the project to $1.2 million, the release said. Washington County is putting another $2.3 million into the $3.5 million project, the release said.

It might take about $45 million to turn a large tract near Hagerstown into a technology business park, including the cost of building roads and utilities to support it, Washington County Public Works Director Joseph Kroboth III said Friday. But the payoff, over time, is expected to be large, Kroboth said. Besides a business park generating local industry and high-paying jobs, he said the project would create new tax revenue - possibly covering the government investment within 10 years.

Merchandise is expected to be shipped from the new Macy's Internet fulfillment center in July, according to Stephen Christian, executive director of the Berkeley County Development Authority. A dedication ceremony and open house for the 1.3-million-square-foot facility at 333 Caperton Blvd. in the Cumbo Yard Industrial Park is expected to be held in July, but a date has not been set, Christian told the Berkeley County Council Thursday. Built for the retail giant's Internet business, the building has been completed and is currently being stocked with products, Christian said.

Berkeley County is among fewer than five areas attempting to land a company that could bring 2,500 to 3,000 jobs to the community, Berkeley County Development Authority Executive Director Stephen Christian said Monday. “I think we will have a definite answer by October, possibly sooner,” said Christian, who declined to reveal the name of the company. While no deal has been struck, sketch plans proposing the construction of more than 2 million square feet of industrial building space at Tabler Station Business Park south of Martinsburg were advanced Monday by the Berkeley County Planning Commission.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. -- The Antrim Township Board of Supervisors on Tuesday revisited an agreement made with Atapco Properties that could speed up the development of a business park off Exit 3 of Interstate 81. The board voted to change a previous agreement with Atapco regarding the construction and maintenance of two traffic lights to be installed at the offramps at Exit 3 as part of the planned business park. Under the new agreement, Atapco will construct the two lights and pay the township a lump sum of $100,000 for each traffic light.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. -- The Antrim Township Board of Supervisors and Atapco representatives are closer to reaching an agreement that could move forward the development of a business park off Exit 3 of Interstate 81. During a lengthy discussion with Atapco representatives at the supervisors' board meeting Tuesday night, board members expressed concerns about costs to the township associated with traffic lights that would be installed at the off-ramps at...

WILLIAMSPORT -- A Marine Corps flag now flies along Interstate 81, in honor of a local Marine deploying to Afghanistan and as a reminder of all the men and women still fighting overseas. Scott and Michelle Kretzer wanted to raise a flag in honor of their son, Lance Cpl. Jorden Meyers, who will be deployed to Afghanistan next week. "It's so hard to be so proud and so sad at the same time," Michelle Kretzer said of her son during a ceremony Friday in the D.M. Bowman Business Park.