Westinghouse headquarters spurs $500M worth of growth in Cranberry
Westinghouse Electric Co.'s headquarters expansion is driving other development in Cranberry, including two new retail and office projects and a business park that will add jobs, officials said.
In all, 10 projects, with an estimated value of more than $500 million, have been approved or are being built in the Butler County township, allowing it to sidestep the recession.
That dollar figure counts the value of only eight projects — covering a variety of industries from home building to manufacturing — that are active today, with more expected to start soon, said Eric Kaunert, Cranberry community planner and business center coordinator.
All of the projects make Cranberry one of the strongest growth areas in the region, not only with new residential complexes, but a host of retail, office and light industrial developments, Kaunert said.
The three biggest projects are:
• Cranberry Promenade, a $30 million development of 218,658-square feet of space that will contain retail shops, including an Aldi grocery store, and 170,720 square feet of office space. A first phase will build about 70,000 square feet of space, with about 70 percent retail and 30 percent office, with a ground breaking planned for late summer or early fall. Plans for a second phase include office space in a campus-like setting, surrounded by a central park. Developer is Warner Pacific Properties of Sturgis, Mich.
• The Village at Cranberry Woods will provide 165,000 square feet of offices; 120 residential units; a financial institution; and 150,000 square feet of retail, including two hotels with combined 249 rooms. When completed by developer FRA Development Associates of Cranberry, the cost will be $193 million. The first phase, involving a 135-room, five story Hilton Garden Inn, along with retail and three restaurants, involves $27 million.
• Century Business Park will be built on Route 19 at Ehrman Road and Century Boulevard and contain 73,500 square feet of offices and a 4,997-square-foot automobile service station. Developer is the Sampson-Morris Group in Monroeville.
Of the three projects, Cranberry Promenade and the Village at Cranberry Woods have received official approval for a first phase, while Century Business Park awaits township approval, said John K. Trant Jr., Cranberry's chief strategic planning officer.
Trant saidthe Westinghouse Electric headquarters complex consists of four buildings, one occupied, two ready for move-in and a fourth under construction. This $125 million development, in the Cranberry Woods Office Park complex, will eventually mean 5,000 jobs, Trant said.
The park was acquired by McKnight Realty of Pittsburgh in 2008 for $89.5 million.
Many of the other developments under way contain a mixture of retail and offices, he said. They include:
• Pennwood Commons, valued at $4.1 million, with a 50,142-square-foot building to house Talisman Energy, and the second 53,476-square-foot building planned.
• Oak Tree Place, site of the former Oakleaf Hotel on Route 19, containing an 83,431-square-foot development, including restaurant buildings, a hotel with 74 rooms and retail. Initial construction is valued at $2.95 million.
Residential projects include:
• Park Place, with 776 single-family home, apartment and townhome units, a 12,500-square-foot neighborhood shopping area and two community buildings. Located off Rochester and Powell roads, Park Place is valued at $196.5 million by developer FRA Development Associates. Thirty-seven houses have been sold.
• Belle Vue Park, with 104 single-family homes, 104 apartment units, 81 townhomes, plus 15,000 square feet of retail and two community centers, each with a pool. Estimated development cost is $100 million.
• Chatham Commons, with 128 apartment units in four four-story buildings on 14.6 acres, with a pool, small community center/fitness center and gazebo, valued at $2 million.
• Orchard Park, a community of 88 single-family houses being built by Heartland Home, with an estimated value of $30 million.
