CRANBERRY TWP — At the Manager's Coffee and Conversation on redevelopment, the impact of big businesses on Cranberry came up several times.

One resident asked about how the restructuring at Westinghouse would impact the township. Jerry Andree, township manager, did not seem too worried about the engineering giant's bankruptcy filings and possible downsizing.

Andree said Cranberry officials meet monthly with Westinghouse's senior management team. He said they could expect to see some contraction within the company, but Andree expected to see Westinghouse remain in the township in some capacity.

Andree said officials have people lined up to take Westinghouse's space in the Cranberry Woods business park, and the company might lease out some of its office space.

Westinghouse furloughed more than 800 people, 125 at its Cranberry headquarters in August after owners at its South Carolina nuclear project shut down construction. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March.

“I'm pretty confident you'll continue to see Westinghouse here in Cranberry,” Andree said.

As for Amazon's new headquarters landing in Cranberry, Andree said it isn't likely.

“We can't accommodate that,” Andree said. “We're happy to be part of a regional effort.”

Richard Donley, a developer with Chaska Property Advisors, said Pittsburgh is a real contender to house Amazon's new headquarters. It's one of five cities in the running, he said.

Donley said if Amazon's headquarters came to Pittsburgh, Cranberry would likely see some benefits in the housing market, with Amazon bringing 50,000 new jobs over several years.

When asked by a resident about what Cranberry was doing to prepare for impact from Shell's new ethane cracker plant just over the county line in Potter Township, Beaver County, officials admitted they were a bit behind.

Steve Gifford, executive director of the Community Development Corporation of Butler County, said county officials are behind their peers in getting ready for impact from the plant that is expected to create 6,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs.

Cranberry and Butler County, though, can capitalize on services and products needed for the plant and from the plant.

He hopes in 10 years they will host a business that can change the use of the polyethylene created by the cracker plant.