Harrison Point project awarded $1M state grant for development

A Harrison business park development is getting $1 million in state grant funding.

The money for the Harrison Point business park is coming from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

In Harrison, the grant money will be used for site preparation work, including stormwater mitigation, utility installation and roadwork.

The proposed development known as Harrison Point would be built on 162 acres near the Route 28 interchange (Exit 14) in Tarentum.

A filing with PennDOT related to the project showed plans include developing 249 residential units for senior independent living; 100,000 square feet of medical office space; a 62,000-square-foot technology park; nearly 23,000 square feet of restaurant space; a grocery store; and a gas station with a convenience store.

There would be a 100-acre township park.

The site preparation work includes grading 1.6 million cubic yards of earth; building a 580-foot concrete arch culvert extension; installing gas, electric, water, sewer, stormwater management and fiber-optic telecommunication facilities; relocating electric transmission lines; and making highway improvements to serve the project.

The developer, R&Z Harrison Properties, had asked for a $5 million grant from the state.

The Harrison grant was among $274.4 million in grants awarded to more than 200 projects. The state received nearly 500 requests for $1.7 billion in funding.

R&Z Harrison Properties hopes to start construction later this year, according to Brian Clark, a consultant for the development.

Nothing has been built on the site since trees were cleared from it more than two years ago to protect an endangered species of bats that otherwise would have nested there. By removing the trees, the bats were able to find other nesting sites before construction begins.