Editorial: Harrison Point project should stay prepared to roll with the changes

Planning for the future is always important. That doesn’t stop just because of economic upheaval and a global pandemic.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is putting $3 million into a road modification for Route 366 (Bull Creek Road) just off Route 28’s Tarentum exit. It would support a 162-acre business park that has been planned for several years.

So does that seem like a good investment during the coronavirus pandemic?

Maybe.

Developers and investors, municipalities and the state cannot stop planning for what comes next.

When completed, the Harrison Point project is set to include multiple kinds of space. There will be 200,000 square feet of office and technology facility. There will be a 100-acre park. There will also be 249 senior independent living residential units.

There is a case for some of that being very necessary when the global health crisis is over. There is an argument for it being part of what could help with the coinciding hit to the economy.

Senior residential facilities don’t look like they will be redundant anytime soon. There are more than 2 million people older than 65 in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania State Data Center — the seventh largest aging population in the United States. That could mean decades of need for those senior living options.

Park space is also likely to stay in demand. Access to green space and recreation options are something that increases the property value of other real estate. And after months in lockdown, Pennsylvanians are likely to want as much outdoor access as possible in the future. Good plan.

Technology is one of the best growth industry possibilities for the area, so building that into the plan is another good idea. The one questionable aspect is office space. Forbes has predicted the pandemic could change the way businesses work, seeing central locations become less important to companies.

But that is a “could,” not a “will.” Plans can’t be put on hold indefinitely, waiting for certainty that will never come.

We have previously agreed with the Pittsburgh International Airport’s $1 billion renovation being paused. This is not the same thing. The difference is the ability to provide what will always be needed and to bend with change.

In 2016, as the project was getting underway, its real estate broker said one of the things that made the project a good prospect was flexibility — the way in which those 200,000 square feet could adapt to different needs. That is much better than being locked into one use and scrambling to pivot.

The state is right to add another $3 million to a project estimated to total $70 million in investment to Harrison. Planning and development can’t stop. It just has to be prepared to change.