YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – It’s hard to dispute that things are happening in Hermitage, Pa.
Several retail and community projects are either underway or in the works in the Mercer County city.
Earlier this month, representatives of Michigan-based retailer Meijer outlined plans before the Hermitage Planning Commission to develop a 159,240-square-foot supercenter at the site of the former Shenango Valley Mall, now being developed by an affiliate of Ohio-based Flicore LLC.
If approved by the Hermitage Board of Commissioners, the Meijer and a new Wendy’s restaurant operated by Thomas 5 Ltd. – a Wendy’s franchisee owned by the chain’s namesake, Wendy Thomas Morse, and her siblings – would join other projects already announced for the new Hickory Fields development.
Those projects include an approximately 130,000-square-foot Target store now under construction in anticipation of an opening in 2027, along with restaurants operated by Longhorn Steakhouse, Chick-fil-A and Chili’s.
Less than a week before the planning commission’s Aug. 3 meeting, local and commonwealth officials gathered at the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory in Hermitage to officially announce plans to convert the building – after the guard vacates it for a new location next year – into a community asset.
City leaders are making plans for what will be known as the Kraynak Community Family Center, named in recognition of Kraynak’s owner George Kraynak’s $920,000 donation to Hermitage to buy the armory building and eight-acre site, after Pennsylvania lawmakers approved conveying the property to the city.
Phil DeAngelo, co-owner of mobile coffee shop Giavanna’s, is creating a brick-and-mortar location for his business. His new shop is expected to be a welcome part of the LindenPointe campus, where several startup businesses operate and where residential properties are being developed.
DeAngelo says he wants his shop to become “a destination.”
These developments are welcomed by a community that a few years ago watched as tenants departed the Shenango Valley retail center.
City leaders, commonwealth officials and private-sector partners can take pride in what their collaborations are accomplishing in the Mercer County city, and the region anticipates more to come.
