Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Plaza expected to open by April
By Shari L. Berg
Sunday, February 04, 2007

Developers are aiming for the end of April to see Orchard Park Plaza in Richland finished and open.

The plaza, currently under construction at Route 8 and Ewalt Road, will contain an Atria's restaurant and several other businesses.

Work on the restaurant is nearing completion, said Anthony Dolan, a principal commercial agent with Walnut Capital, of Pittsburgh, owner of the plaza.

The 16,000-square-foot plaza has been under construction since January 2006 and has space for seven to 10 businesses. A UPS Store has been open there since November. Other stores that plan to open include Great Clips, Dry Cleaning Station and AT&T Wireless.

A separate 14,000-square-foot building next to the plaza will contain a Rite Aid pharmacy, which is expected to open soon, Mr. Dolan said.

He said his firm was negotiating with other businesses to locate at the site, but he did not provide specifics.

"It's just too early for me to be talking about that," he said.

The township will make some road improvements to accommodate the anticipated increase in traffic around the plaza and at the new Grandview Crossings Plaza farther north on Route 8.

Left-turn lanes at Route 8 and Ewalt Road will be installed at a cost of $1.54 million. Half of that money will come from transportation impact fees. The other half must come from an alternate source, Richland Manager Dean Bastianini said, which could be a grant or local tax revenue.

"We're hopeful we'll get some assistance from the state," he said.

Work on the project is expected to start this year and be finished by 2010.

Mr. Bastianini said the township was aware that some people are concerned that a traffic light will be installed at Route 8 and Applewood Drive. But, he said, "there are no plans to put a traffic signal at Applewood Drive. The intersection has been studied in the past, and it's never warranted a traffic signal."

The township had considered connecting Applewood Drive with East Ewalt Road based on a recommendation from the township traffic engineer, Mr. Bastianini said.

That plan would have cost about $843,000. But people who live on those roads complained it would increase traffic in their neighborhoods and cause unsafe conditions.

Three properties were razed to make room for Orchard Park Plaza: the former home of John Ewalt, built in 1852, and two commercial properties. Richland supervisors approved rezoning the area in 2004 from residential to highway commercial for the development.

Mr. Dolan said he expected the entire plaza to be open by spring.

"There are some landscaping issues that we need to address yet, but the rest of the plaza will be open for business by the end of April," he said.

Construction updates are available on the company's Web site at www.walnutcapital.com.

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