Plans form for land off Bull Creek Road in Harrison

The wooded land off Bull Creek Road between Route 28 and Little Bull Creek in Harrison is like a blank canvas.

According to its owner, Rinaldo “Ron” Zampogna III, what eventually is painted on that canvas will depend a lot on local real estate market demands. Zampogna wants to develop about 60 acres in the area formerly known as Parks Plan.

“I'm excited about the project,” Zampogna said. “I look forward to bringing some new recreation and business opportunities to our area.”

The recreational aspect involves the rebirth of the dormant Silver Lake Park.

Zampogna told Harrison officials his company will provide additional land and construction assistance to revive the park in a small, remote ravine behind Carlisle Street and Trinity United Methodist church and near Bull Creek Road in Tarentum.

The 140-acre property was bought by R&Z Harrison Properties LP of Buffalo Township, a company owned by Zampogna and his father, Ron Zampogna Jr., a well-known New Kensington contractor.

R&Z bought the property in 2014 from First Commonwealth Bank for $545,000.

Harrison developer Brian Clark, a former state legislator whose help Zampogna enlisted for the project, said only about 60 of the 140 acres R&Z owns will be used for the development. Part of the remaining land will be used for the park, he said.

“As part of the project, they (township) are going to be able to acquire more property and protect it forever,” Clark said.Giving additional land to the township helps the developers as well.

Part of the tract R&Z will cede to the township contains areas close to Little Bull Creek. By doing that, Clark pointed out, it helps provide a green space that will make the development more attractive while also providing a buffer from the recreational area.

Also, Clark said it should help avoid any issues with the state Department of Environmental Resources regarding Little Bull Creek.

“One thing we are going to do is preserve the slopes and protect the stream,” Clark said. “By avoiding the slopes, we avoid impacting the environment.”

“If they are not going to touch the stream, they may not have to file for a permit,” said John Poister, DEP spokesman in Pittsburgh. “The only way they would need a permit (from DEP) is if there is a change in the banks or if there was something like an erosion or sedimentation issue.”

In June, the township commissioners gave their endorsement to the project by agreeing to pursue a $250,000 grant from the PA GreenwaysTrails and Recreation Program.

Commissioners chairman Bill Poston said the grant would be used to acquire abandoned properties near the 65-acre Silver Lake Park property that have been tax delinquent for decades and could be used to expand the park. Poston said Clark is working with the township on preparing the grant application.

Zampogna said Clark's experience and expertise was instrumental in helping R&Z obtain a state grant for preliminary work on the project called “Harrison Point.”

Earlier this year, the state's Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), approved a $600,000 grant for engineering work, to which Zampogna is adding a $277,000 match, according to R&Z's grant application.

That application listed a number of possible uses for the property: commercial, industrial, manufacturing, professional services, and research and development.

Zampogna said there will be a retail aspect with possibly some stores and restaurants on that part of the property near the entrance to the area along Pleasant Avenue, off of Bull Creek Road.

Clark, however, said a shopping center is unlikely.

“It would be smaller stores, smaller restaurants,” Clark said. “The kinds of places that will have the kind of things people coming to and from work will buy.”

An initial plan for Harrison Point shows it being developed in phases, starting with the largest area closest to Bull Creek Road and the Route 28 Exit 14 interchange, which is projected to be businesses or manufacturing.

The next phase, farther north along the Route 28 expressway, would be for offices. The final part of the property, closest to Pleasantville Road near Allegheny Valley Hospital, could be use for senior citizens housing.

Brian Kerr, a real estate broker for Howard Hanna who will market the project, said flexibility is a key to Harrison Point.

“We think the ‘flex office concept' is the right one for the project,” he said. “You can see that it will be fairly large, but it won't be overbuilt.”

He said that flexibility opens up a lot of possibilities in regard to prospective tenants; he said a hotel is even a possibility.

Speaking from his years of experience in construction, Ron Zampogna Jr. summed it up this way: “Once you start moving that earth, you don't know who will show up and say, ‘This is what I'd like.' ”

Tom Yerace is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. Reach him at 724-226-4675 or tyerace@tribweb.com.