Hempfield grants Menards more time for store planning decision

Home improvement chain Menards gets a few more months to decide what to do with its site plan for a new store in Hempfield after township supervisors on Monday approved an extension.

The site plan now will expire Dec. 31. Supervisor Tom Logan questioned the short time frame after the site plan has sat unused for five years.

“They indicated that they would be providing us an answer on go or no go or delay further,” said township manager Aaron Siko.

Menards was put on notice in July that the site plan for a new store Hempfield supervisors approved five years ago was nearing its expiration date. The plan was approved by township supervisors Aug. 24, 2020, according to a letter obtained by TribLive through a public records request. The state municipal planning code sets the five-year limit.

A separate letter obtained by the Trib last month indicated Menards sought the extension to the end of 2025.

Headquartered in Eau Claire, Wis., 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. 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 off Route 30 near Westmoreland Mall.

The company bought the former Ramada property for $7.75 million and the parcel that held the Westmoreland Athletic Club for $1.25 million, according to property tax records.

The buildings were demolished and the property remains vacant with piles of gravel and weeds.

The closest Menards stores to the area are in West Virginia — near Morgantown and Wheeling. In addition to Hempfield, other proposed locations in Pennsylvania are in Fayette and Washington counties.

The township in 2021 received a $925,000 multi-modal 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 as the local match, according to information provided to the board in July.

The project is in the final design phase and could go out to bid this fall. The grant is set to expire next year.

It would add a traffic signal at Sheraton and Donohoe, change traffic patterns through the Best Buy property and add a stop sign for traffic on the ramp coming from the Westmoreland Mall.