Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Shopping plaza headed to Route 8
Shari L. Berg
January 22, 2006

One of Allegheny County's faster-growing communities is getting a new shopping plaza.

Work on Orchard Park Plaza at Route 8 and Ewalt Road in Richland is scheduled for completion late this year or in early spring 2007.

Four businesses -- Rite Aid, Cingular Wireless, Atria's and the Dry Cleaning Station -- have signed leases for the site, said Anthony Dolan, a principal commercial agent with Walnut Capital, of Pittsburgh, owner of the development.

Mr. Dolan said he is negotiating with other businesses to lease space at the site, but he couldn't discuss those.

The plaza has space for seven to 10 businesses, Mr. Dolan said.

The former home of John Ewalt, built in 1852, was razed to make room for the plaza.

Two commercial properties, a used car dealership and a vacant building also were demolished.

To use the site for a plaza, Richland supervisors in 2004 approved rezoning the area from residential to highway commercial.

The site is being excavated, Mr. Dolan said.

"We have 54,000 cubic yards of dirt being removed right now," he said. "All this right now is just major excavation. We've got a good bit of work to accomplish out there."

Walnut Capital has properties in Cranberry, Downtown Pittsburgh Monroeville, Murrysville and Uniontown, among other places.

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