Clock is ticking on Menards site plan approval in Hempfield

Home improvement store chain Menards has been put on notice — the site plan for a new store Hempfield supervisors approved almost five years ago is nearing its expiration date.

Township officials this month sent a letter to the company’s properties division warning the plan will expire if construction doesn’t start or the plan isn’t extended.

Site plans were approved by township supervisors Aug. 24, 2020, according to the letter obtained by the Trib through a public records request. The state municipal planning code sets the five-year limit.

“They will have to come back to us to either request an extension, to acknowledge that they’re going to let that plan go or to find somewhere in between that,” Township Manager Aaron Siko told the township supervisors.

Headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisc., Menards is the third-largest home improvement retailer in the U.S. (behind Lowe’s and Home Depot), with 341 stores in 15 states, primarily in the Midwest.

The company wants more time, according to spokesperson Jeff Abbott.

“We plan to discuss an extension with the township as we hope to build a store on this property someday in the future but have nothing to report about construction at this time,” he said.

A possible Menards store first was presented to the township’s planning commission in June 2020. The site plan shows a 250,000-square-foot building.

Supervisors in August 2020 voted to combine three tax parcels and approved the site plan.

Two months later, Menard Inc. purchased the former Ramada property for $7.75 million from Greensburg Hospitality, Westmoreland County property tax records show. The company also purchased the parcel that held the Westmoreland Athletic Club, which closed in 2015, for $1.25 million, documents show.

Demolition began shortly after. On Tuesday, piles of gravel sat among weeds on the property across Route 30 from the Westmoreland Mall.

Siko said it’s uncommon that site plans reach the end of the five-year time frame with no movement.

“It’s been several years since the township has had a project that has reached the five-year time limit,” he said.

The site has been referred to as the “unicorn on the hill” during supervisors meetings over the past year. Supervisor Doug Weimer said construction of the store would add to the township’s tax revenue.

A Menards location would bolster commerce in that area and provide an option that combines lumber and building materials with household necessities such as groceries, he said.

The closest Menards stores to the area are in West Virginia — near Morgantown and Wheeling.

Proposed locations in Pennsylvania include stores in Fayette and Washington counties in addition to Hempfield.

The township in 2021 received a $925,000 multimodal grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development that would be put toward traffic improvements at Sheraton Drive and Donohoe Road. Menards agreed to contribute $350,000 to that project, according to information provided to the board this month.

Siko said the township hasn’t received the financial commitment from Menards, which was considered the local match for the project. It is in the final design phase and could go out to bid this fall. The grant is set to expire next year.

“The board will have to make a decision if for some reason Menards isn’t developed,” he said. “If the board doesn’t get a commitment, then they have to figure that out.”

The proposed project would add a traffic signal at Sheraton Drive and Donohoe Road, change traffic patterns through the Best Buy property and add a stop sign for traffic on the ramp coming from the Westmoreland Mall, Siko said.