HERMITAGE, Pa. – A year after the official merger of the city of Hermitage and the borough of Wheatland, both communities are benefiting, including more than 30 Wheatland businesses.
A number of Wheatland businesses have been assisted by the merger, according to Mark Longietti, director of business and community development for the city of Hermitage. A much larger staff in Hermitage has led to the expansion of businesses, infrastructure improvements and the opening of new businesses.
Blue Collar Betty’s Bar and Grill, a new business, opened near Wheatland’s industrial area.
Wheatland Tube is in the midst of a $100 million private investment after Hermitage approved plans for an automated warehouse.
Omega Lumber bought property and is expanding operations.
Thompson Fabricating was able to sell its business to another entity that plans to retain jobs and expand, Longietti said.
Longietti said the city helped facilitate a land swap between Aim Leasing and Sharon Tube to the benefit of both businesses.
Longietti said the city is working with Boise Cascade and Paramount Games, which are also looking to expand.
The city is working on upgrades to infrastructure, such as sewer and streets near many of these businesses, because of heavy items being hauled through the area and creating a lot of stress on the roads.
“There is a lot of activity,” Longietti said. “I think with the city of Hermitage and our services, we are able to help those businesses as they grow.”
For Hermitage, City Manager Gary Hinkson believes the merger will provide more long-term benefits, including the addition of Wheatland’s robust industrial corridor, which with some nurturing will allow Hermitage to attract more businesses and industry.
Benefits for Residents
Businesses are not alone in benefiting from the merger.
Municipal property taxes were reduced 80% for Wheatland residents, who previously were paying nearly 25 mills in taxes, compared with 5 mills by Hermitage residents.
Wheatland residents also now enjoy other benefits as well – discounts for Buhl Park pool passes, free library memberships through the Community Library of the Shenango Valley, youth recreation programs and more city staff to provide their municipal needs.
“The city of Hermitage has a much more robust staff,” Longietti said. “We can assist businesses, particularly as they look to grow and expand. … We have a very good track record on garnering some state dollars to really leverage and extend our dollars.”
Founded in 1872, Wheatland’s infrastructure had aged, and despite high taxes, the small population was unable to raise enough funds to offset large projects.
The municipal merger has allowed for plans to start tackling some of those issues.
The merger’s success, which has been touted by Patricia Lewis, the last Wheatland council president, has led to the communities receiving the Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence in the intergovernmental cooperation category and a Phoenix Award for Community Achievement from the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce.
“We’ve really made a case to the state government that municipal mergers are rare, and we think we have the model for a successful municipal merger,” Longietti said.
With the help of state agencies and grant opportunities, Hermitage officials hope to improve roads and utilities in the former borough. Also, Longietti said there is a request for federal assistance for an aging pump station.
History of the Merger
Longietti said the merger happened organically, starting in 2016 when Hermitage began providing police services to Wheatland through a cooperative contract, and then helping with the streets in Wheatland the following year.
“That really, I think, started the cooperation, the conversation, the building of trust, that eventually led to the borough talking to the Department of Community and Economic Development in Harrisburg and really commissioning a study by the Pennsylvania Economy League to kind of look forward and see what is the future of Wheatland,” Longietti said.
The results showed Wheatland would have needed to continually raise taxes or cut services – or both – to continue providing for its residents. Wheatland officials responded by approaching Hermitage about a potential merger, which led to further study and an eventual vote. Both communities approved the measure by a 2-to-1 margin.
Hinkson said after voters approved the referendum Nov. 8, 2022, leaders took all of 2023 to work with Wheatland’s elected officials, communicate with residents and “hit the ground running” in January 2024.
“And it turned out as we thought it would … a win-win situation for the former residents of the borough of Wheatland and the businesses there and the city of Hermitage,” Hinkson said.
The Wheatland Borough Building is now a community center, and Hermitage plans upgrades. Through a state Green Light Go grant, traffic signal upgrades are planned to improve traffic flow on Broadway and Council avenues.
“We’re really committed to let that part of [what is] now the city of Hermitage, know that we value them, that we want to reinvest some of the dollars that came from their budgets during the merger, match that up with state dollars and really benefit the entire community,” Longietti said.
The addition of the borough also means a broader residential base.
“We feel that we’ve taken a proud community and made it now a neighborhood of the city of Hermitage,” Hinkson said.
The increase in real estate, property taxes and earned income tax, as well as the city’s experience in leveraging grants and other available money, should help provide long-term tax stability for everyone.
Wheatland’s significant cash reserves have been earmarked for capital improvements for that area.
Growth for Hermitage
Hermitage is not just sitting on its success and the projects involving the Wheatland merger. The city is currently involved in many infrastructure projects and about $2 million in street reconstruction for the longtime Hermitage areas. But the biggest project is the redevelopment of the former Shenango Valley Mall.
Once demolition is complete, the redevelopment of the former mall will mean 42 acres of commercial property with both national chain stores and restaurants, as well as a town center area with smaller boutiques and locally owned businesses.
Plans include gathering spaces, a natural park, trails and a playground.
Hinkson said the project, overall, will add about 900 service and hospitality jobs.
Knowing that quality of life is important, Hinkson said the city intends to create nine pickleball courts at the Hermitage Athletic Complex, add more parking and recreational trails. The addition of a sidewalk along North Hermitage Road will connect the school complex with the local YMCA.
Residents also use the LindenPointe Innovative Business Campus for recreation, taking advantage of the trails around the facilities there, which house a business incubator and is home to numerous medical offices.
New commercial businesses are also in the works, including construction of both a Top Tier Credit Union and a Take Five Oil Change business on East State Street.
Joy Cone is also working on a $40 million expansion project that is slated to bring 130 more jobs to the community.
Importance of Housing
In addition to creating jobs and recreation, both Hinkson and Longietti said the key to growth in Hermitage is finding a way to address the housing shortage.
“We hear constantly from people that people want to move into the area, but they’re having a hard time finding housing in whatever price range or size that they need, so Mark [Longietti] has been spearheading efforts to come up with some out-of-the-box thinking on how we can add housing inventory here in the city of Hermitage,” Hinkson said.
Longietti said Hermitage ranks fourth in most square miles in Pennsylvania. But population density in Hermitage is much better than metropolitan areas like Philadelphia, which ranks No. 1, and Pittsburgh, which is third. With vacant land already inside city limits, including some places where utilities are set to be added, Longietti points out there is “room to grow.”
However, Hinkson said they are interested in more than one-off homes being built here and there. Those considering Hermitage, they believe, are interested in single-family homes, as well as apartments, townhomes and condominiums.
“We’re trying to develop a community where people want to live here,” Hinkson said.