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Officials ponder incubator structure August
6th, 2010
Feds give another $100,000 for tech center August 4th, 2010
Planning begins now for future business incubator
July 15th, 2010
Sharon Regional gets $1M for tech center June 25th, 2010
'Green' tech center specs didn't discourage bidders
May 7th, 2010
Hermitage's LindenPointe celebrates growth
April 29th, 2010
LindenPointe project hailed as collaboration
April 29th, 2010
Firm hired for Flight 93 memorial
April 29th, 2010
Building their resumes, literally - Students
in on tech center construction April 12th, 2010
Federal
official to speak at tech center groundbreaking April 2nd,
2010
Schools
target tech center - Seek ways to offer science activities
March 3, 2010
'Green'
tech center on the horizon February 21, 2010
City
gets big grant for tech center January 6th, 2010
Community College negotiating for even more land October
9th, 2009
Local
BC3 Campus to Double in Size September 15th, 2009
City
going with "green" tech center to garner federal grant
July 27th, 2009
Retiree
volunteers to lead workforce development efforts May
30th, 2009
Construction underway on Training & Workforce Building May
6th, 2009
Officials happy with bids for workforce building February
12th, 2009
Wallace
& Pacher, Inc. - The Green Team! December 29th, 2008
Officials ponder incubator structure
Mull best way to run tech center
Sharon-Herald – Friday, August 6, 2010
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
It’s unusual for a municipal government to take the lead role in developing a
business incubator, and Hermitage city officials still must determine just how
the incubator in the LindenPointe technology center will be run.
“Is the (Hermitage Community and Economic Development Commission) the right
structure?” said Assistant City Manager Gary M. Gulla, repeating a question city
officials are exploring from its legal and practical aspects. “Is there another
agency that we could partner with?” Gulla said. “Should we change the
legislative structure of the EDC?”
Summing up some of the discussions at Thursday’s EDC meeting, Gulla said he does
not foresee the city creating a non-profit corporation to run the tech center,
but added that there are existing 501(c)3 agencies in the county the city can
partner with, if such status becomes necessary.
An incubator provides working space and business instruction to entrepreneurs to
create new businesses. The incubator at the technical center will focus on the
so-called STEM industries — science, technology, engineering and math — and
could include software makers, electronics manufacturers and biological research
firms.
City officials visited the Youngstown Business Incubator Thursday and plan to go
to the Technology Collaborative in Pittsburgh soon. Officials already have been
to the Erie Technology Incubator, and the Gannon Small Business Development
Center, Erie. This research will help officials develop a mission and business
model for the LindenPointe incubator, an application and admissions process from
prospective businesses, and an operating budget.
Gulla said he believes officials can have the structure and operations plan for
the incubator done in six to nine months, subject to commissioner approval. The
tech center construction will be completed next year.
“It’s an aggressive to-do list but it’s exciting that we have the opportunity to
do this,” Gulla said. “I think we have the right partners to get it done.”
As word of plans for the incubator has spread, business people have come forward
willing to help, Gulla said. Business people are needed to mentor incubating
businesses, and assist in other ways.
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Planning begins now for future business
incubator
HERMITAGE
Sharon-Herald Thursday, July 15, 2010
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
Although construction has only just begun to build a technology center in
Hermitage’s LindenPointe technical business park, it’s not too soon to plan the
mission and function of the business incubator side of the center.
Debra Steiner, executive director of the Gannon Small Business Development
Center, Erie, told Penn-Northwest Development Corp.’s board Wednesday that
incubators function much like parents do with children. “You need someone who
will make day-in and day-out contact with the tenants,” she said.
An incubator is not simply a building with cheap space, she said. True
incubators have programs to help start-up companies develop business plans, find
financing, market their products and learn the intricacies of business
management, Ms. Steiner said. Those programs can include day-to-day contacts to
make sure businesses are following through on business their plans, making sales
calls and monitoring expenses and revenues, she said. She also suggested regular
mentoring sessions where entrepreneurs can meet with seasoned business people to
discuss operations.
The Columbus Technology Incubator maintains a pool of banks, law firms and other
professionals who offer funding and in-kind services to start-up companies, Ms.
Steiner said. She encouraged the participation of local colleges in the
incubator because their activities complement those of incubators, Ms. Steiner
said. Incubators must have rigid guidelines for accepting new businesses, and
stick with a theme for the kinds of companies they want to nurture, Ms. Steiner
said.
Incubators cannot simply accept every entrepreneur who comes along, she said.
Incubators need tenants with “funding wherewithal” because no funding sources
will hand out loans to entrepreneurs with bad credit, she said. Idea people are
not necessarily the best business people, Ms. Steiner said.
Hermitage wants its five to seven incubator suites occupied by businesses in the
so-called STEM industries — science, technology, engineering and math — and
could include software makers, electronics manufacturers and biological research
firms. “Technology can be difficult to finance,” Ms. Steiner said, noting that
incubator officials need to constantly network with banks and other financing
institutions so the lenders come to understand the potential of incubator
companies and their industries.
In a well-managed incubator, companies mentor each other and form strong
relationships because they experience similar obstacles and triumphs, she said.
They bounce ideas off each other and encourage the development of those ideas.
Incubators do not need to be tied to businesses located within the incubator,
Ms. Steiner said. Some serve companies located elsewhere, and these connections
can help generate new businesses, she said.
The management of an incubator facility needs to be kept separate from the
management of the incubator program, she said. Incubators are their own
businesses and cannot be addicted to rents — they need to make sure businesses
develop to the point that they can move out on their own, usually in three to
five years — and attract operational financing outside of rental income, she
said. Rents, while they are market-rate, do not cover expenses, she said.
Ms. Steiner praised Hermitage and Mercer County officials for their economic
development efforts, and said they stand out when compared
to other communities she has seen. “Mercer County has been one of the most
proactive communities in pulling together and moving ahead,” she said.
Gary M. Gulla, Hermitage’s assistant city manager, said city officials visited
the Gannon center this week, and also have been to the Youngstown Business
Incubator and Pittsburgh Technology Collaborative. He said the other incubators
have shared their documents, made their officials available for interviews and
related what their experiences have been like.
“Everybody has the same goal: to get the entrepreneurs of tomorrow out there,
get it going and generate business,” he said. Gulla said he hopes the
Penn-Northwest board members will use their contacts to talk up the tech center
among business people they come in contact with.
“I hope they become our apostles,” he said.
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'Green' tech center specs didn't
discourage bidders
HERMITAGE
Sharon-Herald - May 7th, 2010
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
The four sets of bids to build the technology center in
Hermitage’s LindenPointe technical business park came in at about the pre-bid
estimate, but there might be a problem with the apparent low general
construction bid.
Of the seven general construction bids opened Thursday, Veon Construction Corp.,
West Middlesex, tendered the lowest at $3,435,000, with Rien Construction,
Brookfield, behind at $3,568,640. The other bids ranged from $3.6 million to
$3,988,000.
Other apparent low bids: Rabe Environmental Systems, Erie, $854,000 for heating,
ventilation and air conditioning. The other three bids were $891,000, $979,534
and $989,715. D.J. Hannon & Sons Inc., New Castle, $240,590, for plumbing, the
lowest of five. The other bids ranged from $286,000 to $379,333. Power
Contracting Co., Carnegie, $722,000, for electrical construction. The other bids
ranged from $777,222 to $844,000.
Click here to read the entire article.
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Hermitage's LindenPointe Celebrates Growth
April 29, 2010
By Dan O'Brien
The Business Journal - Youngstown, OH
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Two major projects under way in this city stand to create a
new business culture that will enable the Shenango and Mahoning valleys to
emerge more economically diversified and competitive.
So said officials during a groundbreaking Wednesday at the LindenPointe
Innovative Business Campus that launched construction of an expansion of Butler
County Community College and the new Technology Center of Excellence.
Gary Gulla and John Fernandez turn
shovels at the press event.
"It's nice to see how we translate policy into real projects and real jobs,"
said John Fernandez, U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for economic
development, who was on hand to celebrate the two projects. "This partnership is
exactly the kind of work we need to be doing."
The new technology center received a $4.2 million grant in January from the U.S.
Economic Development Administration to help fund construction of the new
building. The grant was augmented with a $1.25 million contribution from the
state, which Gov. Edward Rendell announced in August 2008.
The EDA had previously awarded the project $800,000
"This project represents a big example of President Obama's formula for
sustainable growth and to get this country out of a cycle of boom and bust,"
Fernandez told an audience of about 200 business and government leaders from
western Pennsylvania and northeast Ohio. "We want this recovery to be broader
based than others."
That necessitates new public-private partnerships that end up investing in a
wide range of technology applied to research and business development, Fernandez
said. "We're faced with unprecedented global competition," he said.
Small companies that develop new products, services and technologies will
provide the business imputes to create this sustainable economy, he said.
Where these companies locate also matters, Fernandez noted. "They want to be
around each other and share a talent pool," he said.
The new Technology Center of Excellence is the result of a partnership between
the city of Hermitage, the West Central Workforce Investment Board, the Mercer
County CareerLink, the Penn-Northwest Development Corp. and executives from the
technology sector.
The 16,500-square-foot building will include testing for use by high-tech
companies, five to seven business incubators for new companies, and common
class, break, meeting and rest room areas. The classrooms will also have
teleconferencing equipment.
Among the beneficiaries of a strong tech center in western Pennsylvania are
communities in northeast Ohio, officials said.
The OH-PENN interstate region, a regional workforce development initiative that
combines the interests of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in Ohio,
and Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania, helped move the project along,
noted Gary Gulla, assistant city manager for Hermitage.
"We're linked here in the Mahoning and Shenango Valley region," he said.
In a show of solidarity, Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams attended the event and
told the crowd "we will rise an fall as a region."
Williams said that the stronger western Pennsylvania is economically, more
opportunities become available for residents in northeast Ohio. Together the
region benefits as a whole.
"Too many times in the past, leaders have allowed invisible boundaries to
separate us and define us," Williams said. "If it's good for western
Pennsylvania, it's good for Ohio."
Those synergies are also evident in Butler County Community College's expansion
at LindenPointe, officials said.
"We want to become northwestern Pennsylvania's institution of higher learning,"
said Nicholas Neupauer, president of Butler County Community College. The
college is expanding its existing 4,000-square-foot building to 20,000
square-feet.
The expansion will include five more classrooms, two computer labs, one science
lab and a student lounge. The building will be ready in time for classes
beginning on Jan. 15.
The idea is to create a campus-like environment to make it more amenable to
students. Once the expansion is finished, Butler County Community College will
have expanded its Mercer County branch from 196 seats to more than 1,000 seats.
"You can count on Butler Community College to be a partner here for many years
to come,” Neupauer said.
Copyright 2010 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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LindenPointe project hailed as
collaboration
HERMITAGE
Sharon-Herald - April 29th, 2010
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
The problem with economic development efforts in the past has been that towns
and cities viewed their neighboring municipalities as competitors, said John
Fernandez. U.S. assistant secretary for commerce and development. The real
competition is from China, Singapore and elsewhere around the world, not the
next town over, he said.
The federal government has been inconsistent in its role in economic
development, and needs to promote cross jurisdictional partnerships, Fernandez
said. “It’s too infrequently put to work,” he said. “We can’t let our
communities just be out there on their own.” Projects such Hermitage’s tech
center in LindenPointe technical business park, shows the benefits of cross
border support, he said.
“We really are in this together,” Fernandez said Wednesday at the groundbreaking
ceremony for the tech center and Butler County Community College’s renovation
and expansion of its LindenPointe campus building. Construction bids will be
opened Tuesday for the tech center, which will provide technology business
incubator suites and a testing laboratory.
The commerce department’s economic development agency is providing $4.2 million,
and the state is kicking in another $1.5 million. Work already has begun to
build five new classrooms, two computer labs, a science lab and other amenities
at the BC3 building.
Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams set the stage for Fernandez’s comments by calling
for overcoming the artificial borders of local, state and federal jurisdictions.
“If it’s good for western Pennsylvania, it’s good for eastern Ohio, and vice
versa,” Williams said. Williams spoke on behalf of the OH-PENN economic group
that encompasses Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania and Trumbull,
Mahoning and Columbiana counties in Ohio. “We are seeing one of the
manifestations of the success of that agreement,” he said. Williams pledged to
support more Pennsylvania projects, while adding, “We hope to see you in Ohio.”
Hermitage Assistant City Manager Gary P. Gulla noted Youngstown’s success in
attracting companies to the Youngstown Business Incubator and the planned
expansion of V&M Star Steel. Lenita Jacobs-Simmons, regional administrator for
the U.S Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, also touted
the OH-PENN regional effort. “I’m excited to have the first interstate region in
my region,” she said. “We have some neighbors trying to do the same thing.” The
OH-PENN region is a model for an effort to regionalize counties in New York,
Ohio and Pennsylvania, she said.
Ms. Jacobs-Simmons also said the tech center project helps break some of the
barriers between economic development and workforce development. The U.S.
economy has been for too long been tied to booms and busts in specific
industries, Fernandez said. New technology and ideas have always fueled new
products,
businesses, services and jobs, and communities should be encouraging innovation.
Innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs tend to want to be around each other,
hence the clusters such as Silicon Valley, Fernandez said.
The tech center could be the seed that leads to private investment and jobs, he
said.
“It truly represents a great, living example of President Obama’s vision for a
new foundation for stable, economic growth,” Fernandez said. “I think it’s a
great project. It will really help the region enhance its emerging technology
cluster.”
The BC3 project also shows an
example of breaking through community borders. The college, the fastest growing
of the 14 community colleges in Pennsylvania, is enjoying marked enrollment
growth at its Lawrence and Mercer county campuses, said President Dr. Nicholas
Neupauer. Ruth Purcell, director of the BC3 Educational Foundation, called the
LindenPointe expansion the most innovative project in the college’s history.
The foundation has undertaken capital projects in Butler County, but usually
provides scholarships and technology equipment, she said. “It’s hard to believe
that it was only less than a year ago that the BC3 Foundation was asked to buy
the building.” Ms. Purcell said. BC3 is an investment in the community in that
75 percent of its graduates stay in their home areas after graduation, Neupauer
said.
The college offers associate degrees in business, elementary education,
psychology and general studies.
Pictures from the April 28th Groundbreaking
event!
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Firm hired for Flight 93 memorial
HERMITAGE
Sharon-Herald - April 29th, 2010
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
AP file
This artist’s rendering is one view of the design chosen as
the Flight 93 memorial to be built on the site of the Sept.
11, 2001 crash near Shanksville, Pa. Wallace & Pancher
Inc. of Hermitage will landscape the site.
Wallace & Pancher Inc.,
the Hermitage environmental engineering and construction
firm, prides itself in its employees giving their all to whatever project they
are hired to do.
But the company recently scored a contract that the employees said they will go
above and beyond their usual standard to complete. The company has been hired to
landscape the Flight 93 National Memorial, near Shanksville, Pa. It was on this
site that United Flight 93 crashed after 40 occupants overcame a group of
terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, preventing the plane from reaching Washington,
D.C., target.
“It’s an honor,” Wallace & Pancher co-founder Dan Wallace called the contract,
echoing the words of others in the company. Another company already has begun
the mammoth task of moving dirt on the former farm field to create an
amphitheater on the 185-acre site that will focus attention on the crash site —
also called the sacred space. The sacred space will be shielded by a memorial
wall on which the names of the passengers will be inscribed. From the air, the
site will look like a circle three-fourths of a mile across.
Visitors coming in from Route 30 will see a 100-foot
“Tower of Voices” with 40 wind chimes. It is then a two-mile walk or ride to the
bowl, said lead designer Paul Murdoch in a Somerset Daily American story posted
on the National Park Service website.
WPI will be responsible for the flowers, trees and shrubs planted on the site.
The interior of the circle will be planted in native species, giving the look of
a meadow, said assistant construction manager Neil Hosick. The bowl will be
mostly open to draw attention to the sacred space, Murdoch said. “To us, this is
a project that we are very honored to do and appreciate the opportunity to be
able to do it, but we hope to never have to do it again,” said construction
estimator Bryan Perdue.
“It’s not about the money,” he said. “It’s not about the prestige. It’s about
the patriotism of doing a project like this.” WPI will start on-site work in
June, but most of its tasks will be performed in the fall, with some additional
work next spring.
The memorial will be dedicated Sept. 11, 2011. Wallace said his heart breaks
every time he goes to the site because he recalls what happened there and how it
changed the world “To be on a project like this is just an honor,” he said.
“It’s something we take very seriously. We’re going to give them more than they
expect.”
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Building their resumes, literally -
Students in on tech center construction
HERMITAGE
Sharon-Herald - April 12th, 2010
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
The building of the tech center at LindenPointe in Hermitage will not only be an
on-the-job training workshop for trades people who want to learn green building
skills.
A group of Hickory High School students with interests in architecture,
engineering and construction also will be learning about those professions, city
planning and government operations during the tech center construction phase.
With construction funding by the state and federal governments, the tech center
will provide technology business incubator suites and a testing laboratory. It
will be owned by the city and officials hope it will spur the development of
technology companies in LindenPointe, a business and education park, and the
region.
The building will be built with green techniques and serve as a training site
for tradespeople to learn those techniques.
Cory Powell, Jared Baughman and John Mudrey, all Hickory sophomores, have gotten
permission from their parents and met with city and development officials to
start setting up the framework for their involvement, said Hickory Principal
Chris Gill, adding that he hopes to name another student.
From the city perspective, the students will “tell the story” of the tech center
through a written report and photographs, said Assistant City Manager Gary M.
Gulla. They will document the bidding and green building processes and the
collaborations between governments, public and private agencies and businesses
that will make the tech center a reality.
“I thought it would be good for us to have that (report), but it would be huge
for the kids who have an interest in engineering beyond high school,” Gulla
said.
The students will earn school senior community service points for their
participation, and school officials will allow them to work on school time to
pursue the likely year-long process, Gill said. School officials also will make
arrangements for transportation, Gill said.
“It’s just a wonderful opportunity to have something like this to offer to my
students,” said Gill, noting that all high school students were given the
opportunity to participate.
The students will be able to apply things they learn from the project to their
classes, and beyond, especially should they pursue related careers, Gill said.
Gulla said he wants to help the school promote the so-called STEM careers:
science, technology, engineering and mathematics, all related to the businesses
city officials want to locate in LindenPointe.
The students likely attend the ground-breaking ceremony April 28, and the bid
opening on May 4, Gill said.
“I think they’re anxious to get started,” Gill said.
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Federal official to speak at tech center
groundbreaking
HERMITAGE
Sharon-Herald - April 2nd, 2010
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
Fernandez
John Fernandez, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development,
will be the keynote speaker at a groundbreaking April 28 for the Hermitage tech
center and Butler County Community College in LindenPointe. Fernandez, a lawyer,
former
mayor of Bloomington, Ind., and former employee of a real estate investment
firm, was appointed by President Obama to lead the federal economic development
agenda.
Assistant City Manager Gary M. Gulla said he met Fernandez a week ago at a
conference. “We’re looking forward to his visit,” Gulla said. “He’s excited
about coming here and funding the project.”
The commerce department’s Economic Development Administration has awarded the
city $4.2 million to build the tech center, which will have business incubators
and a technology business testing center, and previously awarded $500,000 to
build a sister building, the training and workforce development building, now
open for use in LindenPointe.
The BC3 Educational Foundation bought the building the college was renting in
Linden- Pointe and plans to renovate and expand it, and build a parking lot
across the street. The foundation also has bought other property in the park for
future use. College President Dr. Nicholas C. Neupauer will speak during the
roughly hour-long program set for the groundbreaking.
Also scheduled to speak are Willie Taylor, EDA regional director from
Philadelphia, and Lenita Jacobs-Simmons, regional director of the U.S.
Department of Labor and Industry’s employment and training division.
Gov. Edward G. Rendell and Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, a supporter of the
tech center project through the OH-PENN Industrial Region, also have been
invited to speak. The state has awarded $1.25 million for the tech center
project.
During the ceremony, the college and training buildings will be open, and
drawings of
the building projects will be available for review. About 800 people have been
invited to the event, and 300 to 400 people are expected to attend.
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Schools target tech center
Seek ways to offer science activities
SHENANGO VALLEY
Sharon-Herald - March 3rd, 2010
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
Administrators from fiveShenango Valley school districts have been talking about
joining together to offer technology- oriented activities for students at the
newly built training and workforce development building at Linden Pointe in
Hermitage.
The talks are in the idea stage with no specific plans drafted for school boards
to
consider, but Hermitage already has committed to holding two robotics classes,
one for high school students and one for elementary and middle school students,
this summer at the building, said Hermitage Superintendent Dr. Daniel Bell.
Bell said he believes the schools — Hermitage, Sharon, Sharpsville, Farrell and
West Middlesex — would do a better job if they band together, but Hermitage also
is looking at doing some things on its own, if need be. The focus on talks is
finding
ways to expose science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers to
students. “At the core of it, it’s promotion of American kids getting into those
areas of professional employment,” Bell said. “We’re all very excited about it.”
The workforce building is being eyed because of its state-of-the-art computer
and electronics labs, where students could not only learn about software — the
programs run on computers — but also hardware, the wiring, circuit boards and
other physical components of a computer, Bell said. The electronics lab is
“totally wired up for anything anyone would want to plug in for basic
electronics,” said Paul Young, the city’s volunteer coordinator for the
building.
City officials are seeking funding to buy electronics equipment.
The building also offers wireless and wired Internet connections, Young said.
“It is the ideal facility,” Bell said. “The nice thing is the city has been very
proactive at looking at all the activities that could possibly work.”
City officials said the workforce building was constructed with thoughts of
training college students and adults, not children as young as elementary
school. However, they have said they will entertain any ideas brought to them.
“It’s amazing how many people want to come forward and talk about using this
building,” Young said.
School administrators are discussing creating extracurricular activities
involving engineering, design, computer aided design and robotics, and opening
up to students the possibility of participating in competitions that many
colleges offer, Bell said. Among the ideas being considered is hiring a STEM
coordinator to serve multiple schools, or having a team of teachers from the
schools develop programs.
Bell said it would be an “over reach” for Hermitage to hire a STEM coordinator
on its own. He equated it to the Chinese language classes that will be taught at
Hickory High School over a teleconferencing link by a Gannon University
instructor. Administrators want to make Chinese classes available, but it’s not
necessarily worth it for the school to hire a teacher. There are no deadlines
for reaching decisions, Bell said.
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‘Green’ tech center on horizon
HERMITAGE, PA
Sharon-Herald - February 21st, 2010
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
David E. Dale/Herald
Officials involved in building a technology center at LindenPointe technical
business park, Hermitage, look over plans. The building site is in the
background. From left are Greer Hayden of HHSDR Architects/Engineers, Sharon;
Hermitage Assistant City Manager Gary M. Gulla; Dan Wallace and Brian Pancher of
environmental engineering firm Wallace & Pancher, Hermitage; and City Manager
Gary P. Hinkson.
Hermitage city officials already were considering the environmental impact in
their building projects, so it wasn’t much of a stretch when federal officials
said the city would have a better chance of getting funded to build a technology
center if it was a green building, said Assistant City Manager Gary M. Gulla.
The building design was about 90 percent complete when the city committed to
making the tech center a LEED-certified project, and already incorporated many
green characteristics, said Greer Hayden, president of HHSDR
Architects/Engineers, Sharon.
The tech center at Linden- Pointe will be the first Mercer County building to be
certified
by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Construction will
be funded by a $4.2 million federal grant and a $1.25 million state grant, and
city officials plan to award contracts in April.
Click here to read the entire article.
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City gets big grant for tech center
HERMITAGE, PA
January 6th, 2010
$4 mil earmarked for LindenPointe
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
For the second time, the federal government has awarded Hermitage a grant to
further its efforts to create a technology-oriented business and education
community at LindenPointe technical business park.
An artist’s rendering shows the proposed tech center at LindenPointe.
Hermitage received a $4 million federal grant to help build the center.
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced Monday that the city has been awarded a
$4.2 million grant through the U.S. Economic Development Administration to help
build a technology innovation and development center, which will be a companion
to the training and workforce development building that recently, was completed
in LindenPointe, on South Hermitage Road.
Click here to read the entire article.
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Community college negotiating for even
more land
By Joe Pinchot
Sharon-Herald Staff Writer
October 9, 2009
When Butler County Community College officials publicly announced expansion
plans last month, President Dr. Nicholas C. Neupauer noted that they were not
just looking to meet an immediate need.
He told the Hermitage Planning Commission then that the college wants to buy
adjacent property for future growth. College officials are negotiating with
Frederick George to buy a vacant lot, and city officials have proposed a deal to
sell another vacant lot owned by the city to the college, Assistant City Manager
Gary M. Gulla told Hermitage Community and Economic Development Commission
Thursday. “We’re looking forward to expansion,” said college Vice President
William T. O’Brien. “We just want to make sure we have enough property so we’re
not landlocked.”
Gulla said officials were pleased with the college’s plans and the faith school
officials are putting in projections that their course offerings at the
LindenPointe technical business park will continue to grow. He noted that the
college is renting facilities in Lawrence County, but will own the property in
Linden- Pointe.
“We’re extremely happy,”Gulla said. “It’s what we had hoped to happen.” The
college announced it will buy the building it rents in LindenPointe from
Subscribers Encouraging Economic Development Inc., a local investment group, and
expand and renovate it for more classrooms, computer labs and a student lounge.
Talks with SEED about the purchase are ongoing, college officials said.
The project cost is estimated\ at $3.2 million, Gulla said. SEED is buying
adjacent property east of its building from the city that will be sold to BC3
for use as a parking lot. If the property remains a BC3 parking lot for 10
years, SEED will not have to pay the $113,850 purchase price. City Manager Gary
P. Hinkson previously said the city’s willingness to essentially give the land
away shows its belief that the deal will benefit the city.
Gulla added that community colleges are playing a significant role in preparing
workers for the labor market, and helping workers learn new skills. The BC3
project also creates teaching and staff employment opportunities and a
“synergistic partnership” with the workforce training building under
construction by the city, and the technology center the city plans to build. BC3
wants to buy 1.8 acres south of the SEED building from George. College officials
said they have received a draft sales agreement from George, and are close to
agreeing on a price and otherwise finalizing the deal.
The college also wants to buy 2 acres from a city-owned 10-acre parcel south of
the George property for $50,000, Gulla said. The city land is south of the trail
that cuts across LindenPointe, and the city would retain a trail easement, Gulla
said. City officials had hoped Hermitage Planning Commission last week would
recommend approval of a subdivision of the city’s 10-acre lot, but not enough
commission
members attended a meeting to take action. The commission will try again at 8:30
a.m. Wednesday.
The HCEDC recommended the sale, which commissioners will have to approve by
ordinance. The city land deal could allow the future building of a road
connecting BC3 property to the workforce training building and tech center
property. College officials said they want to be able to provide business and
industrial training to local workers. The college, working through the BC3
Education Foundation, wants to complete all the purchases by Dec. 31 — the day
its lease with SEED expires — and start construction next year. The $50,000 the
city would receive would go to a land bank fund to help replenish the money the
city used to develop LindenPointe, Gulla said.
Butler County Community College (BC3) on the web @
WWW.BC3.EDU
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Local BC3 campus to double in size
By Joe Pinchot
Sharon-Herald Staff Writer
September 15, 2009
An architect’s rendering of Butler County Community College’s
planned expansion at the Linden Pointe business park
in Hermitage.
With enrollment at Butler County Community College at an all-time high,
officials Monday announced plans to expand its presence at the Linden- Pointe
technical business park in Hermitage.
With three classrooms and 4,000 square feet of space available at LindenPointe,
“We can’t grow any more at that location,” BC3 President Dr. Nicholas C.
Neupauer told Hermitage Planning Commission members.
BC3 located in LindenPointe in 2005 in a building built by Subscribers
Encouraging Economic Development Inc., a local investment group. The college
plans to take over that building and build an addition to more than double its
size. “You’ve heard the cliche, ‘If you build it, they will come,’ ”Neupauer
said. “That’s what’s happening at BC3 in Mercer County.” BC3 started its Mercer
County classes in 2003 at various locations with 120 seats, the college’s term
for students attending all classes. One student could be attending more than one
class.
In its first year at Linden- Pointe, BC3 served 195. It has 922 seats occupied
now, and expects to bump up to 1,000 once the addition is built. Neupauer
cautioned that college officials keep their projections conservative, and will
be able to handle more students. The expansion will give BC3 a more campus-like
presence in LindenPointe, with a student lounge in the plans. “They (students)
don’t have to hang out in their cars after classes,” Neupauer said. The
expansion also will provide five new classrooms, two conference/class rooms and
two computer labs, said David Harris of Thomas J. Keller Architects, Canfield,
Ohio.
The front entrance of the building will shift from the north side to the east,
and BC3 plans to buy from the city land across the street on which to build a
parking lot. BC3 also plans to renovate the second floor of the existing
building for more classroom space, officials said. The BC3 Education Foundation
will buy the SEED building, probably closing the sale in December or January,
with construction on the addition starting in March, said Vice President William
T. O’Brien.
Construction should be complete by the spring of 2011, with renovation of the
existing building to follow, Neupauer said. Classes will not be disrupted during
the process, he said.
Officials have not come up with a cost estimate for the project, said Susan J.
Changnon, BC3 director of communications and marketing. Students will be able to
complete associate degree programs in business administration, business
management, general studies, and elementary and secondary education at the
LindenPointe campus, at a cost of about $4,700 a year, O’Brien said. The credits
earned at BC3 can be transferred to many four-year schools, Neupauer said.
He also noted that college officials have had discussions with city officials
about making more land in LindenPointe available for future expansion. City
officials were delighted at BC3’s plans and noted that providing education and
training have been key goals since they created LindenPointe as a haven for
technology companies.
The city is building a work force development buildingin LindenPointe and is
awaiting word on a $4.3 million federal grant that would be added to a $1.2
million state grant to build a technology center with business incubator suites
and high-tech testing lab. “We hope these projects are playing off each other
and provide a lot of synergies,” said Assistant City Manager Gary M. Gulla.
A tenant of the SEED building, Novocell Semiconductor, eventually will be
displaced, but Novocell President Steve Warner and city officials said they hope
to secure a new location soon. “We have space identified but we haven’t
completed all the details, yet,” Warner said. Warner said he could not disclose
the location, but wants to stay in Hermitage. “Our home is here and this is
where we want to stay,” he said.
Warner praised city officials’ efforts to try to attract non-traditional
industries, while city officials said Novocell has been instrumental in
developing plans for LindenPointe. A previous SEED building tenant, Cypress
Semiconductor, closed its LindenPointe office about a year ago, and a Cypress
employee took a job with Novocell, Gulla said. The planning commission Monday
recommended approval of land development plans for the expansion and the parking
lot, sending the plans onto the city commissioners, who could vote this month.
BC3 also offers classes in Butler and Cranberry Township in Butler County, and
Union Township in Lawrence County, totaling more than 4,200 students. Growth in
the last year was 35 percent at LindenPointe, 28 percent at Union and 11 percent
in Butler County.
Butler County Community College (BC3) on the web @
WWW.BC3.EDU
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City going with ‘green’ tech center to
garner fed grant
By Joe Pinchot
Sharon-Herald Staff Writer
July 27, 2009
An artistic rendering shows a proposed technology
center at LindenPointe technical business park in Hermitage that would use
environmentally-friendly “green” technology. City officials are hoping to secure
federal funding to make the $5.8 million project a reality.
With apologies to Kermit the Frog, Hermitage city officials
are finding it easy being green when they’re talking about revising plans for
the technology center they want to build in the LindenPointe technical business
park. A greener building just might free up federal money to get the estimated
$5.8 million project built. In fact, it was federal officials who recommended
the green concept for the building, said Assistant City Manager Gary M. Gulla.
The project already has support from western Pennsylvania through the Mercer
Lawrence Workforce Investment Board, and the Northwest Pennsylvania Regional
Planning and Development Commission, but creation of the Ohio-Pennsylvania
Interstate Region, which includes Mercer, and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania
and
Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties in Ohio, attracted Ohio support.
The Ohio-Pennsylvania regional affiliation brings the project into the focus of
two federal regions, and scored officials face time with a U.S. Department of
Labor official, who got them access to a U.S. Department of Commerce official,
Gulla said.
A meeting was set up inPhiladelphia where Gulla and Sam Giannetti of WIB met
with a commerce official to talk about area projects, including the tech center.
Federal officials suggested the tech center be redesigned under the Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design program, whose standards are set by the U.S.
Green Building Council. The program promotes environmentally friendly design and
supply choices. The program takes into account elements such as site location,
stormwater management, wastewater handling, transportation, lighting and
building materials, and awards points based on designer choices.
It takes 26 points to be LEED certified, with three higher levels achievable.
City officials are aiming for a silver LEED certification, which requires 33
points. There are no LEED-certified buildings in Mercer County. The Pennsylvania
National Guard armory that state military officials want to build in Hermitage
would be LEED certified, but the state has yet to receive federal construction
funding. City commissioners agreed to the LEED standards at the tech center
Wednesday in an application for a $4.3 million grant from the commerce
department’s Economic Development Administration. “We’ve got to step back and do
the redesign but, for $4.3 million, it’s worth it,” Gulla said.
The city already has a $1.25 million state grant for the project. HHSDR
Architects/Engineers, Sharon, is designer of the tech center and the armory. In
addition to designing the building to LEED standards, city officials agreed to
make the construction of the tech center a LEED training program. “Development
companies would be required to submit proposals with assurances that they would
secure agreements with labor unions affiliated with the project to establish
pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that would train participants in
the application of green building/construction skills,” Giannetti said in a
concept paper for federal officials.
The tech center would house a testing laboratory for use by high-tech companies,
three technology business incubators for startup companies, and common office,
break, meeting and rest room areas. It would complement the workforce training
and development building now under construction in LindenPointe. Initially,
officials conceived of a single building with tech center and workforce
components, but split it apart to suit funding.
The workforce building construction is funded by $800,000 from the federal
government — including $600,000 from EDA — and roughly $500,000 from the city.
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Retiree volunteers to lead workforce
development efforts
City benefits from experience
By Joe Pinchot
Sharon-Herald Staff Writer
May 30, 2009
Paul Young stands at the site where the city of Hermitage is putting up a
training and workforce development building in LindenPointe technical business
park. Young, a volunteer, has been named coordinator of the city’s efforts at
the building.
HERMITAGE —
Paul Young has been retired 1 1/2 years and, while retirement has not been a
crisis for him, he ran out of home projects to do after the first year. “The
past winter was pretty boring,” he said. “My highest value is being productive.”
Young, 63, said he has no need to supplement his pension, but wanted something
important to do that could help him pass the time. When he learned that the city
of Hermitage was looking for a way to manage the training and workforce
development building it is putting up in LindenPointe technical business park,
his ears perked up.
Young approached city officials and offered his services, based on his long
tenure as chief executive officer of the Youngstown Developmental Center,
Mineral Ridge, a residential program for intellectually disabled adults that
serves 15 counties. “He has over 30 years as an administrator, managing a large
agency, establishing relationships with local and state governments, other
public agencies and the private sector,” said City Manager Gary P. Hinkson.
“We’re thrilled that another Hermitage resident has stepped up,” said Assistant
City Manager Gary M. Gulla Wednesday before city commissioners approved an
agreement to name Young coordinator of the building. Young will be considered
part-consultant, part-employee, who will work “more by what needs to be done
than formal structure,” Hinkson said.
“It seems like, at least initially, it’s going to be a regular part of my daily
life,” said Young, who lives on South Darby Road, Hermitage. “This will probably
be like a job.” City officials had not previously considered a volunteer for the
position, Hinkson said. “The city has been considering a management relationship
with a training/educational entity or workforce development or economic
development agency,” he said. “There has been interest expressed along those
lines and the staff has had preliminary discussions with potential partners.”
The position description gives Young duties such as working with city officials,
economic development agencies, educational institutions, employers and others to
develop programming that will sustain, expand and diversify the local economy.
He will schedule use of the building and monitor its operation. Young noted that
while the city’s half of LindenPointe is aimed at housing, developing and
promoting technology companies, technology is not his thing.
“Workforce development was something dear to my heart,” he said of his time with
Youngstown Developmental Center, where he oversaw 240 employees. “I have worked
with groups and facilitated the meeting of goals.” The city needs a strong work
force and to be able to withstand market fluctuations, he said. “I’m interested
in the future of Hermitage and it remaining a viable community,” he said.
Although Young is volunteering, he wants his work to meet the goals of the city.
“I want a job description, because I want to be held accountable,” he said he
told commissioners. “This has to be something that’s real. Young helped write
the job description, and Hinkson said he already expects Young to play a role in
assessing long-term operation options for the building. Young has two other
volunteer jobs: he works at Community Food Warehouse, Farrell, once a week, and
is guardian for an intellectually disabled person. “I think the thing that I
miss about work is the sense of purpose,” Young said. “I don’t miss the
bureaucracy and other things. I do miss something to be passionate about.”
Hinkson said Young’s stepping forward shows that the spirit of volunteerism is
alive and well in the city. “Just another example, although on a larger, more
time- consuming and formal scale, of the wide range of residents willing to
contribute their time and talents in a positive way to their community,” Hinkson
said. More than 70 residents, male and female, younger and older, from all
professions and backgrounds serve on 15 authorities, boards and commissions in
Hermitage. “Not to mention our volunteer fire department and the
tremendous sacrifice those men and woman make to the community,” Hinkson said.
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Construction Underway on the Training and
Workforce Development Building @ LindenPointe
$800,000 Federal Grant Secured
From City of Hermitage Spring 2009 Newsletter (May 5, 2009)
Bill Finzel, President of the City of Hermitage Board of Commissioners
(right), reviews the grading and site plan for the new Training & Workforce
Development Building.
Construction started this month on the Training & Workforce Development Building
in the LindenPointe Innovative Business Campus. The United States Department of
Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) provided an $800,000 grant
towards the project. The purpose of the EDA project is to develop a
strategically located center at LindenPointe to provide training to develop a
workforce to support the retention, expansion and attraction of the electronics
industry cluster in Mercer County, as well as, Northwest PA and Eastern Ohio.
With the Federal funding for the project in place training could begin as early
as the 3rd Q 2009. The building is part of a regional economic development
strategy to stimulate the technology, advanced manufacturing and research
industries in the Ohio – PA Interstate Region. A section of the facility will be
dedicated to training for the electronics industry; however, the facility has
been designed to be flexible to meet a number of employer driven workforce
needs.
Several years ago, the city in a partnership effort with the Mercer-Lawrence
Workforce Investment Board, Mercer County CareerLink, Penn Northwest Development
Corporation and the Hermitage Community and Economic Development Commission
completed a detailed conceptual design and feasibility analysis on the benefits
of a “Center of Excellence” based economic development initiative. Electronics
manufacturing was identified as an emerging industry segment in Mercer County,
Northwest Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. The private sector electronics industry
cluster, regional education and training providers, economic development
agencies and a number of other key partners provided substantial and invaluable
input during this process. It was determined that the facility would play a
valuable role creating a favorable business environment to support business
growth, to attract private investment and to provide an opportunity to diversify
the regional economy. The Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and
Development Commission played an integral role in the application for federal
funding. Denise McCloskey, Executive Director of the Northwest Commission, said,
“The City of Hermitage has developed an excellent planned technical park at
LindenPointe. The Center of Excellence will compliment the amenities offered by
the park and serve the businesses in the Mercer County and surrounding areas. It
was a pleasure to work with Gary Gulla and the City of Hermitage in the
development of this excellent project.”
The Training & Workforce Development Building is located at 3050 Prosperity
Place adjacent to the site for the planned “Technology Innovation and
Development Center” project, for which the city has received a $1,250,000 grant
from Governor Ed Rendell through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Redevelopment
Assistance Capital Program (RACP). These technology center of excellence
resources are strategically planned economic development efforts driven by
regional economic development and workforce partners to develop facilities at
LindenPointe to meet the workforce training needs to support the retention,
expansion and attraction of the regional electronic industry cluster and improve
the ability of the region to compete in the global market place. Sam Giannetti,
Executive Director, Mercer-Lawrence West Central Job Partnership said, “The
concept of establishing the site as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math) center of excellence advancing skills for a 21st century economy is right
on point. The STEM skill sets are essential for our transitioning workforce.”
Implementation of the training programs will be undertaken in a coordinated
effort led through a regional network consisting of the Workforce Investment
Board, the CareerLink and training facilitators in response to the training
needs of the private industry cluster. These agencies will assist by
coordinating the appropriate provider from the training consortium to set up the
training programs. The training providers will have the opportunity to have
specific “condominium type” leased space agreements or a right to a shared
access on an “as available” basis. The training programs will be funded through
direct employer charges, tuitions and state and federal training resources
available through the WIB and CareerLinks.
One of the primary objectives of the facility is to address the training needs
of the electronic industry partnership. The programming will include accredited
general curriculum courses, as well as customized certificate level courses
directed to meet private employer needs. The programmatic uses will continually
develop to meet the identified workforce needs of the region. Based on
information generated through multi-county industry cluster analysis, future
economic development efforts will be directed in the areas of software and
bio-medical clusters.
After a sealed, competitive bid process, which was approved by the EDA the
following companies were awarded construction contracts: Hudson Construction,
Inc., Hermitage, PA; D & G Mechanical, Inc., West Middlesex, PA; D. J. Hannon &
Sons, Inc., New Castle, PA; and, Penn-Ohio Electrical Company, Masury, OH.
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Hermitage, PA
Officials happy with bids for workforce building
Sharon-Herald - February 12, 2009
By Joe Pinchot, Herald Staff Writer
A rendering shows the planned training and work force development building
at LindenPointe technical business park, South Hermitage Road. It is expected to
be used by colleges and training agencies. Photo: Sharon-Herald
An employee of an out-of-town plumbing firm glanced at the list of 18 firms
who had picked up general construction bid packets for the Hermitage training
and work
force development building project.
“Is this one of those bids where it’s who missed the most screws?” he told
another contractor. While only 10 firms actually submitted general construction
bids, they were on top of the four heating, ventilation and air conditioning
contractors, eight plumbing contractors and three electrical contractors who
also turned in
sealed proposals.
“I think this is the biggest bid-opening crowd we’ve ever had,” Assistant City
Manager Gary M. Gulla told the audience of about two dozen contractor
representatives Wednesday. Officials expected a lot of interest in the project
because of the state of the economy, and were pleased with the bids. They were
working with a 2-year-old estimate of $1.2 million for construction, and the
apparent low bids totaled $1,276,670.
The bids included items that could be deducted — including skylights, sun
shades,
an operable wall and compressed air and vacuum systems — to help get the project
within the $1.2 million available.
The apparent low bids were submitted by:
Hudson Construction Inc., Hermitage, $839,000 base bid for general construction.
Other bids ranged from $840,333 to $1,145,172.
D&G Mechanical Inc., Shenango Township, $98,100 for heating, ventilation and air
condition. The other bids ranged from $114,251 to $119,976.
DJ Hannon and Sons Inc., New Castle, $63,750 base bid for plumbing. The other
bids ranged from $66,600 to $113,000.
Penn-Ohio Electric Co., Masury, $275,820 for electrical work. The other bids
were $309,000 and $323,262.
The bids will be reviewed by HHSDR Architects/Engineers, Sharon, and the U.S.
Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, which is
contributing $800,000 for the project. Commissioners likely will
award a contract later this month.
The 5,272-square-foot building in LindenPointe technical business park, South
Hermitage Road, is expected to be used by colleges and training agencies. It
will have a 20-seat computer lab, a 32-seat lecture room, a 20-seat electronics
lab, two offices, a reception area, restrooms and a student lobby, said HHSDR
Project Manager Jeffrey G. Meyers. “It has the most modern electric systems with
provisions for distance learning,” said Meyers, adding that local and regional
high-tech firms and colleges and universities were tapped during the design
process.
Construction is set to start March 16 and be completed by Oct. 1. Gulla said
officials are talking about how to manage the building.
The building will go up adjacent to a lot set aside for a technology center that
would house business incubator suites and a testing laboratory for high-tech
firms. The state has committed $1.25 million for the center, but city officials
are seeking another $1 million.
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HERMITAGE, PA
Green Team - Wallace & Pancher, Inc.
Sharon-Herald Business Chronicle January 2009 - published
December 29th
An engineer and an environmental
scientist partner to make the world a better place, 1 project at a time.
Read the
article here.
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