Business Park

shappell@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - The Washington County Planning Commission voted Monday to recommend that the County Commissioners reject a zoning text amendment that could lead to a mix of development uses at Friendship Technology Park. The John Akridge Development Co. of Washington, D.C., had applied for the amendment in hopes of building at the business park, which was established in 2002 to attract high-paying technology jobs to the area. The commission voted 4-1 Monday to not support a zoning text amendment that could lead to the development of housing, a hotel and retail businesses at the park, which is on the south side of Interstate 70. County Commissioner Jim Kercheval abstained.

The Washington County Planning Commission is tentatively scheduled on Dec. 6 to make a recommendation on whether the County Commissioners should approve or reject a zoning text amendment that would open the door to housing and retail businesses at Friendship Technology Park. The Planning Commission meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at 80 W. Baltimore St. The John Akridge Development Co. of Washington, D.C., applied for the text amendment. The company is asking that a Planned Unit Development (PUD)

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, PA. - The next big project at the Cumberland Valley Business Park could be a new $30 million prison for Franklin County. The Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday authorized sending a nonbinding letter of intent to the Letterkenny Industrial Development Authority proposing the purchase of approximately 20 acres of land for a 445-bed prison. The authority, created by the county in the 1990s to manage surplus property from the realignment of Letterkenny Army Depot, owns the business park.

julieg@herald-mail.com Allegheny Energy Inc. might have a buyer for its business park and former headquarters along Downsville Pike, the executive director for the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission said Monday. EDC Executive Director Timothy R. Troxell said it is his understanding that a group from the Washington, D.C.-metropolitan area has an option to buy the 10435 Downsville Pike building and Friendship Technology Park. Troxell did not know when the option expires.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - AB&C Group Inc., a mail fulfillment center located in Ranson, W.Va., plans to consolidate its local offices and a facility it operates in Winchester, Va., into a new 265,000-square-foot plant in the Burr Industrial Park in Bardane, W.Va., a county economic development official said Thursday. AB&C wants to consolidate its operations to increase efficiency, according to Jane Peters, executive director of the Jefferson County Development Authority.

The Hagerstown Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a site plan for a three-building Burhans Business Center, which is part of the Hagerstown Business Park. The property is at 903 S. Burhans Blvd. The property is owned by Burhans 1 LLC, said Bob Johnson, project manager of Davis, Renn and Associates, a Hagerstown firm. Burhans 1 LLC plans to rent out the property to businesses to provide office and warehouse space, Johnson said. For the first phase of the center, a 24,000-square-foot building and a 3,000-square-foot building would be constructed, according to a staff report by Zoning Administrator Stephen R. Bockmiller.

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.

julieg@herald-mail.com Allegheny Energy and Mountainside Teleport Corp. have completed a $2.44 million deal for the international satellite communications company to become the first occupant of Friendship Technology Park. Mountainside bought 55 acres at the business park along Downsville Pike southwest of Hagerstown for $1.1 million, Allegheny spokesman Guy Fletcher said. The remaining $1.34 million is a promissory note to pay for construction of an entry road to the business park, Fletcher said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Four businesses opened or began construction on new distribution centers in Chambersburg or just south of the borough in the past year. Together, they are to create about 2,000 jobs. Franklin Storage Square feet: 500,000 Jobs created: N/A Expected opening: April 2003 Location: Wayne and Garber roads Ingram Books Square feet: 650,000 Jobs created: 600 Opened: April 2002 Location: Garber Road Kmart Square feet: 850,000 Jobs created: 500 Opened: February 2002 Location: Chambers-5 Business Park Target Square feet: 1.35 million Jobs created: 1,000 Expected opening: June 2003 Location: U.S. 11, between Guilford Springs and Lighthouse roads

waynesboro@herald-mail.com McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. - Federal, state and local dignitaries were on hand to open Fulton County's first industrial park, a venture that took nearly eight years from initial discussions until Monday morning when three pairs of scissors snipped a ribbon. The event, which took place off the new 1-mile access road leading into the Fulton County Business Park off Cito Road, was headlined by U.S. Rep. William Shuster, R-Pa., and Lt. Gov. and state Sen. Robert C. Jubelirer, both of whom praised the work of local officials in helping the project get funding.