Hermitage Commissioners to Review FedEx Center Plans

HERMITAGE, Pa. — The Hermitage Board of Commissioners will consider plans related to a proposed 250,000-square-foot distribution center for FedEx Ground at its April 27 meeting. 

The Hermitage Planning Commission reviewed the land development plan Monday. The next step in the process will be approval by Hermitage commissioners of a plan to consolidate three lots, including the Tam O’Shanter golf driving range property, into a single 65-acre lot, and the land development plan, City Manager Gary Hinkson said.

Scannell Properties, Indianapolis, has applied for a building construction permit and those plans are being reviewed, Hinkson said. The estimated construction cost for the building is $21 million, according to the application. 

“They have said they plan to get under construction this spring or summer,” he said. 

The nearest existing FedEx Ground facility is in North Jackson, in Mahoning County across the Ohio border.

“Once built, the Hermitage location will work in conjunction with this existing one to serve the overall Youngstown area,” David Westrick, a spokesman for FedEx Ground in Moon Township, said Friday. “The details will be determined closer to opening and based on dynamic business needs.”

Westrick confirmed in late March that the company had entered into a lease agreement for the distribution center, which it expects to be operational in 2023. The new facility will employ a mix of full- and part-time team members, and the number of workers will be determined closer to the opening, he said. 

“We continue to experience significant package volume due to e-commerce growth and are optimizing the capacity of our network to meet growing demand for our services,” he said. “The site was chosen because of its ease of access to major highways, proximity to customers’ distribution centers and a strong local community workforce for recruiting employees.”

So far the announcement hasn’t spurred additional interest in the state Route 18 corridor where the distribution center is being built. But Rod Wilt, executive director of Penn-Northwest Development Corp., said he expects there will be.

Companies interested in working on the project have reached out to Penn-Northwest and those inquiries have been referred to the developer, according to Wilt.

Meetings are set up in the coming weeks with site selection companies looking at the area around Exit 15 of Interstate 80, which comes onto Route 18, according to Wilt.

“Once you land a big company like a FedEx, it seems like it gives you legitimacy in the marketplace,” he said.  

Pictured at top: From-the-groundd endering of the proposed FedEx Ground distribution center in Hermitage, Pa.

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