Heavy manufacturing OK'd as conditional use at old Jeannette Glass site

Heavy manufacturing is now a conditional use of the former Jeannette Glass property, further paving the way for the Elliott Group to redevelop the site.

Elliott officials requested a zoning ordinance amendment, which city council passed unanimously.

Elliott Group sought the change for the urban center district, which was created specifically for the 13.8-acre former glass plan site, according to city officials. The district permits light manufacturing, among other non-industrial uses.

The Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. in March approved a resolution authorizing the sale of the property to Elliott Group for $600,000. Elliott officials have not commented.

The proposed redevelopment project involves building a cryogenic pump test stand, according to information released by county officials in March when they approved the purchase and sale agreement. Elliott Group employs about 875 people at its U.S. headquarters along Route 130 in Jeannette, 1.5 miles from the former glass production site that the IDC bought for $305,000 at a 2012 tax sale.

Elliott officials will have to apply to the city for permission to use the property on a conditional basis for heavy manufacturing, if the sale agreement is approved by the company.

A $6 million remediation and redevelopment project at the property is on track to finish this summer.

The Elliott Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Ebara Corp., supplies compressors and turbines for liquefied natural gas plants.

After the 2012 property purchase, county officials faced years of legal challenges from the previous owner, the late Abraham Zion of New York. The state Supreme Court upheld the sale, and the parties reached a settlement in 2016.

A ground-breaking ceremony in May marked the beginning of the project at the brownfield site, which has been funded by state and local dollars.

Zion purchased the old factory in 1983 for $4 million and, for decades, let it sit dormant. Years of court challenges stymied redevelopment plans at the property, which was littered with rusted buildings and hazardous remnants of glass making. Zion died in 2016. The eyesore has been replaced with clean, fresh soil.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@tribweb.com or via Twitter @byrenatta.