Grant Announced To Turn Stonecrest Golf Course Into Business Park

State Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) announced this week the Commonwealth Financing Authority awarded a $2 million Business in Our Sites grant and a $3 million Business in Our Sites loan for the development of what will become the former Stonecrest Golf Course into the Stonecrest Business Park located in New Beaver Borough.

The Lawrence County Economic Development Corporation (LCEDC), in cooperation with Stonecrest Business Park (SBP), plans to develop the former golf course into the Stonecrest Business Park. The site consisting of 213 acres, 110 acres of which is developable, is accessible to Interstate 79 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike and is 30 minutes north of the Shell Cracker Plant.

“The development of the Stonecrest Business Park in the southern part of the county will build upon other developments already happening in Beaver County and around the Pittsburgh International Airport,” said Bernstine. “This will create more businesses and a significant amount of new jobs, which adds up to strengthening the economy. Approximately 3.3 million Pennsylvanians, including thousands from our area, find themselves looking for work due to the coronavirus pandemic. This project will help the unemployed tremendously. It is anticipated this will result in the creation of more than 1,000 jobs.”

SBP plans to develop up to 1.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial space. In addition, Business in Our Sites loan funds will be used for site excavation, grading construction of roads, streets and engineering. The grant funds will be used to bring utilities to the site.

“By building a local hub for businesses to grow, we can expand our tax base and lessen the burden on homeowners,” said Bernstine. “This is a model we can duplicate for all of our communities across the 10th District.”

The Commonwealth Financing Authority Business in Our Sites funding empowers communities to attract growing and expanding businesses by helping them build an inventory of ready sites. This program is for speculative projects only. Funds cannot be used for projects that are primarily residential or recreational. Sites must be previously used property or undeveloped property that is planned and zoned for development.

Stonecrest Golf Course will remain in operation for as long as possible until the development project begins.

In total, the project will cost at least $7 million, said John LaCarte, president of the development company, in a statement.

“It is very rare to find a 200-plus-acre tract of land in western Pennsylvania with such an enviable topography and access to infrastructure and transportation systems,” he said. “Our engineers had prepared a feasibility study noting the need to extend critical infrastructure such as water, sewer, natural gas and electricity to the site.  With these funds and private capital, the engineering and work on the installation of infrastructure and roads can begin pending the successful closing of the purchase of the property.”

The 18-hole, 6,277-yard Stonecrest Golf Course opened in 1962.

The course property, which is less than 10 miles from Ellwood City, sits less than five miles away from interchanges with the Pennsylvania Turnpike and PA Route 376.