Brouse McDowell's Mark Longietti Discusses Hermitage Growth with Youngstown Business Journal

Youngstown Business Journal recently spoke with three Hermitage, Pennsylvania city officials, including Brouse McDowell Of Counsel Mark Longietti, about several in-progress developments to the Hermitage area.

The biggest project is the newly built 250,000-square-foot, $21 million FedEx distribution center on Route 18. Set to begin operations in October, the center expects to open with more than 100 employees. Mark, as Director of Business and Community Development for Hermitage, noted that the city is the fourth largest in Pennsylvania by area at just over 29 square miles, and this is only one of several ongoing development projects.

Another of these developments will expand Hermitage’s land even further when the city merges with the neighboring borough of Wheatland—which netted the city a Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence. After meeting with a mainly industrial business base in Wheatland and Hermitage, Mark noted that Wheatland businesses will see an 80% reduction in municipal property taxes saying, “[c]learly, businesses and residents are excited about that tax reduction.” He added that the city “think[s] that also lends well to attract and expand businesses in that industrial footprint.”

Over the years, the city has successfully secured state grant dollars to assist with business attraction and expansion projects and it manages a pool of revolving loan funds that can also assist with these endeavors. Mark told the Youngstown Business Journal that “[w]e want people to know and understand that Hermitage is open for businesses. We want to work with business partners to help deliver their projects.”

One project in line to receive assistance is the Shenango Valley Mall redevelopment into a town center area. Mark said that the intersection where the mall currently resides sees “the most traffic of any intersection between Erie and Cranberry Township,” noting that there is “great potential there, particularly on the restaurant-hospitality side.”

Other business projects Mark and the city of Hermitage are attending include construction of the headquarters of Mercer County Community Federal Credit Union, expansion of Joy Cone Co., and the welcoming of new businesses such as New Castle’s MP Coney Island, Ohio’s One Hot Cookie, McAlister’s Deli, Starbucks, and Valvoline.

You can read the full article at the Youngstown Business Journal here (subscription required).