Plans move forward for shopping plaza, senior apartments in Hempfield

By Monica Pryts
Herald Staff Writer

HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP July 02, 2008 10:03 pm

— Plans are moving forward for two new developments in Hempfield Township.
Tuesday, supervisors approved site and sewage plans for the Williamson Towne Center, a shopping plaza to be built at 25 Williamson Road, and a senior citizens apartment building at 92 Hadley Road.
Crews are clearing land at both locations and building permits are being finalized, said Todd Hittle, township secretary and treasurer.
Township officials approved zoning permits, pending approval of sewage plans by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Construction can begin once all of that is in place, Hittle said.
The plaza is owned by Byzantine Inc., a Beaver Falls development company that bought the 6-acre lot in late 2007 from Greenville Water Authority for $350,000.
The plaza will have spots for five stores that already include Tractor Supply Co., Peebles department store and a shoe store, Hittle said.
Spiro Pappan, a partner with Byzantine, didn’t return a message.
The senior housing unit will be built on 2.2 acres between Walmart Supercenter and Perkins that was once the site of the former Baird Florist, a representative from real estate developer Hudson Group Inc., Hermitage, told supervisors in June 2007.
The two-story building will have 23 apartments, a community room and laundry facilities, a project estimated to cost $2.5 million.
People 62 or older who meet certain income eligibility requirements will be allowed to live in the building, which will be managed by Community Action Partnership of Mercer County.
The Partnership also manages Garden Way Apartments in Hermitage, a senior apartment building Hudson helped develop.