Summit at Cranberry falls through

Not a huge surprise, but the 80 acre, 650,000 square foot Simon Property Group project has been shelved because of a lack of funding for Rt 228 improvements. From the Post-Gazette:

One of the biggest proposed retail ventures in the region may be dead, the apparent result of a stalemate between the developer and the state Department of Transportation.

After more than seven years of planning, Simon Property Group of Indianapolis has notified local, county and state officials that the firm has decided to "withdraw from development activity" and spend no more money on the project that was to have brought a sprawling mix of retail, office and residential development to an 80-acre tract at Route 228 and Interstate 79 in Cranberry.

Joseph Dubovi III, district executive for PennDOT's District 10, said the agency is not surprised by Simon's decision and is moving forward on plans for incremental improvements to Route 228 instead of the broader plans the agency had demanded if the Simon mall plan would have advanced.

Scaled-back 228 plan shot down

With a $20 million difference between current funding and what's needed for the full Route 228 plan, Cranberry Township scaled back the proposal. PennDOT has now said that plan is unacceptable.

"Plan B is not acceptable right now to the department,'' said Joseph P. Dubovi III, department executive of Indiana-based PennDOT District 10, during a meeting at the Marriott on Route 228.

Facing a funding shortfall of between $20 and $24 million, Cranberry officials recently asked PennDOT for approval of a "plan B" approach that shaves several key components of the project that already had been approved by PennDOT. The township contends that the plan, though less than ideal, would be sufficient to handle transportation needs for 10 years and would salvage the $65 million that already has been committed to the road project.

The decision could mean that Simon Property Group of Indianapolis withdraws its plans for a 650,000-square-foot development of retail, residential and office space. The complex has been targeted for the north side of Route 228 at Interstate 79. The company had pulled together from a variety of sources a $65 million funding package for the road project, leaving a $20 million to $24 million gap.

PennDOT, which has allocated about $24 million in state money to the project, expects the funding gap to be closed by local and private investment.

The local chamber of commerce said it will mount an all-out lobbying effort to persuade the state either to close the funding gap or allow the scaled-back plans to proceed.

Road development updates

In an effort to save the Rt 228 Project and the new Simon Property Group mall, Cranberry Township has resubmitted a scaled down proposal for upgrades to Rt 228. A $20 million gap in funds have created a risk that the mall project will be abandoned taking the entire Rt 228 Project with it. From the Post-Gazette:

The current proposal is to [focus] improvements between Route 19 on the west and Castle Creek East Drive in Seven Fields on the east. The eastern terminus in the original plan would have been Myoma Road, farther east, in Adams. Also, Route 228 would be widened only between Franklin Road and Castle Creek, instead of adding through-lanes in each direction throughout the project area. In addition, construction of a loop road from Route 228 to southbound Interstate 79 would be delayed.

Those cutbacks would translate to a fully funded status for the remaining $65 million worth of work, including intersection improvements along the corridor, elimination of the tapering of the road east of Franklin, and construction of an overpass ramp from I-79 to the Simon development, as well as a ramp from westbound Route 228 to northbound I-79.

On the western side of Rt 19 is the Freedom Road bottleneck. To address the problems with that corridor, a public forum will be held to discuss the issues. Again, from the Post-Gazette:

There are two primary concerns: Those who own residential and business property immediately adjacent to Freedom Road want the land to be rezoned to a more intensive and economically valuable commercial use. Those who own residential property just beyond that are fearful of being next door to an even busier commercial corridor with no buffer between them.

A public meeting will be scheduled to seek input from property owners in the vicinity, and separate meetings will be set for the three study committees. Ultimately, their recommendations would be presented to the township's planning advisory committee, then forwarded to the township supervisors. No dates are set.

[Township planner John Trant Jr.] said all options will be on the table, from the extreme of a four-lane expressway to a roadway flanked by sidewalks and bike lanes. "It's all up for discussion,'' he said.

Officials search for Rt 228 funding

The Post-Gazette today had some information about the funding of the 228 improvements. Much of the discussion centers around the proposed Summit at Cranberry planned by the Simon Property Group. More about Rt 228 development can be found at the Route 228 Improvement Project website.

"This is definitely a positive because you have multiple municipalities communicating and getting on the same page and trying to solve problems in unison instead of everybody operating in their own little kingdoms," said Seven Fields Manager Thomas Smith, who called everybody together two weeks ago to begin the discussions.

At issue is $83 million in improvements to Route 228 from Route 19 in Cranberry to Myoma Road in Adams, said Mark Hillwig, community relations coordinator for District 10 of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The improvements are needed to accommodate growth, most particularly a mall planned by Simon Property Group near the intersection of Routes 228 and 19.

"The funding gap is significant, significant to the point that Simon has put its project on hold," said John Trant Jr., chief strategic planning officer for Cranberry.

The improvements include widening part of Route 228 from four lanes to six and another part from two lanes to four. An additional northbound ramp is planned from Route 228 to Interstate 79. Another southbound ramp is planned onto Route 228 from the interstate, Mr. Trant said.

Improvements to the intersection of Routes 228 and 19 include additional through lanes on Route 19 and additional turning lanes in all directions, he said.

Simon added a few improvements of its own to accommodate its mall, including a flyover ramp, which is essentially a bridge over Route 228 connecting the north side of 228 with the east side of I-79, Mr. Trant said.

The mall is planned on the north side of Route 228 across from the Pittsburgh Marriott North and could be anywhere from 750,000 to 1 million square feet, he added.

Simon is bringing the bulk of the funding to the table, officials said. The developer has put together a package of $40 million in public and private funding. "That's a nice chunk of change" from a developer, Mr. Smith said.

Shopping, restaurant updates

The Post-Gazette ran a few articles today detailing some upcoming developments in Cranberry. Here's a quick list:

• Cracker Barrel will be coming to town. Originally, they were supposed to be located in "restaurant row" where Olive Garden, Red Robin, On The Border, etc. are located. That fell through, and now they'll try again on Rt. 19 where the Oak Leaf Motel used to stand. They'll be located just down the street from several other similar restaurants - Eat'n Park, Perkins and Bob Evans.


• Cranberry Promenade (second item down) , detailed last Spring in the PG, is expecting approval to begin building in the Spring. The grocer Aldi will anchor the mixed-use development along with a pharmacy and a couple banks.


• The biggest project on the list is the Summit at Cranberry. Required as part of that project are modifications to Rt. 228 to handle the increase in traffic. Currently, the developers are a few million short on the money needed to improve the roads. The project will proceed anyway and they hope to have the improvements completed by 2012.

Cranberry approves Westinghouse

Not that there was much question, but Cranberry Township has officially approved Westinghouse's proposal for its complex in the Cranberry Woods office park. With the construction set to begin before year's end, the area now braces for change.

The most immediate change is the planned widening of Route 228 between Route 19 and Route 8, a stretch of about eight miles of road that has become prone to rush-hour jams as developments and shopping malls sprang up. Interstate 79 exits will be reworked.

The Summit at Cranberry detailed

The Post-Gazette presented an update of the Summit at Cranberry, a "mega-office complex tied thematically and architecturally to plans for a major shopping plaza." The two plans combine for nearly two million square feet of mixed retail and commercial space on nearly 200 acres. The article goes on to detail the extensive transportation package needed for the development.

[The developers] will cover all its normal on-site traffic improvements plus off-site improvements on Route 228 from Route 19 in Cranberry to Myoma Road in Adams. That includes Franklin Road, Castle Creek Drive West (across from Highpoint Drive to the north), Castle Creek Drive East, Seven Fields Boulevard, Adams Ridge Boulevard and Myoma Road.

The new road configuration would also feature widening of Route 19, beginning at the Pennsylvania Turnpike and ending at Short Street by Wal-Mart, on Route 19. An eastbound lane would be added to Freedom Road and Route 228. The left turns from westbound Route 228 to access both northbound and southbound I-79 would be eliminated.

Alternatively, to go north on I-79, a new ramp would be constructed on the north side of Route 228 to go northbound on I-79 from westbound 228. A new loop road would be built on the north side of Route 228 to get on I-79 southbound from westbound 228. Also, a lane would be added to the exit ramp from the northbound I-79 exit.

There would be no changes to southbound I-79. Also, Route 228 would be widened in both directions by one lane and turn lanes would be added to Franklin Road in both directions.

The Cranberry Township will review the plans in six weeks.