Lower Burrell officials see momentum in business growth, but there's still more work to do

What once was an empty building in the Burrell Plaza could now be home to businesses that will reap nearly $35,000 in tax revenue for Lower Burrell.

Schaedler Yesco, a Harrisburg-based wholesale electrical distributor, will host its grand opening at the Burrell Plaza in the coming months. The store already has had a soft opening.

Additional revenue projected for the city includes about $1,500 in local services taxes, $12,000 to $20,000 in business privilege tax and about $10,000 in earned income tax, according to City Manager Greg Primm.

Schaedler Yesco paid $3,980 in real estate taxes this year, and a new assessment for 2024 hasn’t taken effect yet, Primm said.

Not only does the business’ arrival signify a boost in city coffers, it also highlights a turnaround in what had become a desolate commercial shopping strip mall.

Site takes 180-degree turn

The plaza, located along Leechburg Road near Wildlife Lodge Road, is part of a recent spark among city administrators to bolster Lower Burrell’s business potential.

“Most of the reason I ran for council was to get this place back to the way I knew it when I was a kid,” city Councilman David Stoltz said. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and I watched all the big names leave — and I get it, I understand why it happens.

”But for the longest time, nobody did anything to combat that and to get things moving in the right direction again.”

A refreshed perspective at City Hall plugs into some of the business turnaround in Lower Burrell. When prospective business owners stop at City Hall, they are now greeted with an informational packet about the city and what businesses need to know, said Councilman and Mayor-elect Chris Fabry.

Fabry attributed the Burrell Plaza growth to a “snowball effect.”

“As soon as you got U-Haul in there, then there was some life to this plaza. It made it more valuable, because instead of seeing some old, dilapidated buildings, you start to see what the potential of it could be,” Fabry said.

“So you went from looking at two eyesores, to still looking at one eyesore, but looking at a beautiful building and saying, ‘Hey, that one right next to it could look like that.’”

What’s next

The last domino to fall at Burrell Plaza is the former Blockbuster building. The city’s zoning hearing board in July allowed property owner Widewaters to subdivide the building separate from the rest of the plaza parcel.

The move, officials believe, would make it easier for Widewaters, based in Syracuse, N.Y., to sell the land to prospective buyers.

Fabry and Stoltz also have eyed three locations — the former Aldi’s and Wendy’s buildings, and the Hillcrest Shopping Center (Community Market plaza) — as priority spots for new business in Lower Burrell.

The challenge at the former Aldi’s at 2515 Leechburg Road is that it’s still under lease, Fabry said.

The former Wendy’s building, also along Leechburg Road and across from the Burrell Plaza, has a stipulation for no chain restaurant to occupy the building.

A bank owns the Hillcrest Shopping Center, according to Stoltz.

Council is “actively engaged” with the agents for the buildings, Fabry said.

“There are good things ahead,” he said. “We are confident.”

Site history

It wasn’t long ago that Dollar Tree was the only storefront in Burrell Plaza.

The plaza once featured a JCPenney department store, but that left for the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer in 2005. Since then, one of the city’s largest retail spaces sat desolate.

But within the past few years, the city has been able to fill the storefront. First came a U-Haul in 2017, filling the space of a former Montgomery Ward store that closed in 2001 when the company went out of business.

Then came a Dunkin’ in March.

Seeing the success at the plaza, and the momentum of small businesses popping up across town builds momentum for more growth, and gets people excited for what the city could be, Fabry said.

Within the past year, the city has seen the openings of Hubz Kitchen, Rudy’s Table, The Craft Escape, The Healthy U Factory and Candy Cottage. Construction also continues on a Glen’s Frozen Custard facility.

City’s approach

Fabry admits he’s not a big fan of social media and Facebook. But he’s able to inform constituents of city happenings and the status of certain projects, among other news. People feel comfortable reaching out to him as well.

He cited instances where people have contacted him with possible business leads or relocations for the city to pursue.

“I think that’s making them feel a bigger sense of pride in the community, and that’s making them want to be a part of it,” he said.

Even former city council members, mayors and administrators have been supportive of the city’s efforts to bring in new businesses, and want to see the city succeed, Fabry said.

Fabry gives social media shout-outs to new and longtime city businesses.

Stoltz, who works in sales, is comfortable cold-calling businesses and agents and pitching Lower Burrell to them.

The councilmen also are willing to meet with anyone interested in bringing or starting their business in the city. Both are excited for the momentum the city has.

“I say this all the time: You will never win this battle, but we’re sure not going to lose it,” Fabry said. “There’s always going to be setbacks, there’s always going to be a business that unfortunately doesn’t make it. You’ll never be at 100% capacity — it’s not going to happen.

“But we need to lift us up from where we were — we have — and we need to continue to do so.”