NEW CASTLE, Pa. – Lawrence County is positioned to attract companies to its available sites, but it can improve its competitiveness by using some state resources, according to representatives of a Pittsburgh nonprofit.
“Everything you are doing is spot on from this room to your brochures to how you carry yourself, how you market yourself,” said John Timney, senior director of economic development at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. “Our job is to look at the macro view. How are you doing competitively for southwestern Pennsylvania, and how are you doing competitively for the state?”
He was the keynote speaker Friday at the Forward Lawrence Chamber and Economic Alliance’s Real Estate Development Breakfast at The Avalon Field Club at New Castle.
Timney said there are two things Forward Lawrence can do to make the county more competitive. First is participation in the Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites Program, or PA Sites, part of the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development.
“Pa Sites is two different things,” Timney said. “One, it’s a process. You bring your assets in; they get evaluated; and then there’s grants and funding for those particular assets. What do you need to get that pad ready, that asset ready for sale or lease?”
The other is that the Allegheny Conference, which is also known as the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, has a database. When requests for proposals or requests for information come in, those have to be distributed to real estate brokers and other asset owners, he said.
“Well, the better we’re organized, the faster we can do that turnaround,” Timney said.
Organization
Pennsylvania is getting very organized and trying to speed up permitting and zoning to make the state more competitive to Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and other states, he said.
A CEO may call the governor who’s looking for 50 acres and who wants to move fast, Timney explained. The governor’s community and economic development team needs to respond quickly.
“Our message today is: Hey, let’s get further organized outside of Lawrence County,” the senior director said. “Let’s get your assets into the Pa Sites database and get your brokers into our database, so that when we’re dealing those RFPs and RFIs out, we can actually best represent your organization and your county.”
Timney was joined at Friday’s meeting by Kolt Codner, COO of the Allegheny Conference.
“We are so excited to partner with Forward Lawrence,” he said. “The Allegheny Conference and Pittsburgh Regional Alliance serves the 10 county area around the Greater Pittsburgh region and, really, a lot of our work comes from being able to partner with organizations like Forward Lawrence and drive forward economic development opportunities across the entire region.”
The alliance is positioned to help organizations like Forward Lawrence connect with companies planning transformative investments in the region, Codner said.
“When we think about these major projects, there’s often a lot of variables that are impacting those activities,” he said.
The Allegheny Conference and the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance are uniquely positioned to help with policy advocacy and navigating some of those barriers, Kodner added. That includes help with macro research trends across the region and the concierge service that allows investments to come to fruition.
Frank Moses, Forward Lawrence interim CEO, said the organization launched the digital market two years ago with a mission to build stronger, lasting relationships between metro developers, real estate professionals and commercial property experts.
“Our goal is to bridge those worlds, connect the people who have the visionary opportunities with the people who can bring them to life and while putting Lawrence County on the map as a rare location for development,” he said.
Lawrence County Advantages
Diane Lynn Richardson, Forward Lawrence director of economic development, said Lawrence County offers many advantages.
“It offers affordability without isolation to the larger metro areas,” she said. “We have lower cost of living, relatively, compared to some of our neighbors, access to some great outdoor amenities.”
Safe neighborhoods and strong healthcare services are additional advantages. “And location is our superpower,” Richardson said. “As everyone knows, location, location, location – it’s the No. 1 factor when citing a new business or deciding where you might want to live.”
And the county boasts multiple major industries: defense and metal manufacturing, metal fabrication, plastics, agriculture and food processing and advanced manufacturing. Many communities have only one. The county is also in the middle of the Marcellus Shale.
Business Growth
AMG Chrome recently made a $15 million investment in Union Township, becoming the sole U.S. producer of chrome metals, Richardson said.
Kevin Jones, managing director of AMG Vanadium, said AMG Titanium and AMG Chrome are both under the AMG Vanadium umbrella.
“We’re a global leader in recycling of vanadium from oil residues, and we’re the only producer of ferrovanadium in the U.S. which is really important in high-strength steel, rebar and things like that,” Jones said.
Besides the Vanadium division, AMG also includes lithium and technologies divisions.
In 2019, AMG Vanadium acquired two sites, one each in Neshannock and Union townships.
“In Union Township, we established the first U.S. chrome metal production facility in more than 35 years in the U.S. as industries basically went to China,” Jones said. “We created 36 jobs so far, and we’re ramping up to expand that. And likely, that facility will be doubled or tripled in the near future.”
Last month, Lawrence County Economic Development Corp. was awarded $750,000 from Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program for the Measel-Bruce Inc. AMG Titanium Expansion project in Neshannock Township.
Funds will be used to acquire two vacant parcels plus a 2-acre parcel with an existing building that will be combined into one to provide an additional 60,000-square-foot advanced technology production facility, integrating with AMG’s existing 50,000-square-foot facility adjacent to this project. Additionally, a 17,000-square-foot corporate office headquarters will be constructed. The total project cost is $15.7 million.
“In Neshannock Township, we’re expanding AMG’s Advanced Titanium Master Alloy Technology, and we’re growing its employment from 42 when we purchased it to 75 where we are today,” Jones said. “And we’re positioning the facility to double the capacity with this expansion that the grant is for …”
Jones said the company has more plans for its Lawrence County operations.
“Our vision is to build an aerospace and defense materials technology cluster right here in the region, strengthening America’s manufacturing, critical materials, supply chains and national defense,” he said.
The Sites
Maxwell Frederick, Forward Lawrence economic development specialist, reviewed the sites within the county that are available for development. They include industrial, commercial and residential opportunities.
Industrial sites include the 569-acre Powder Mill property in Mahoning Township. It’s a brownfield site.
The former JM Equipment property in Shenango Township is another industrial site. The 10,000-square-foot building sits on 2.5 acres in the Shenango Commerce Park.
The Pier Building Complex in New Castle is one of the commercial/retail properties available in the county. The East Washington Street restored historic office building in the city’s downtown includes three floors.
Pictured at top: John Timney, senior director of economic development at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.