Outlets spur more growth
SPRINGFIELD TWP — Prime Outlets is largely responsible for the commercial boon in the Route 208 corridor between Grove City and Leesburg, but it has no intention of expanding soon.
"We don't have any concrete plans right now," said Michele Czerwinski, marketing manager for the outlet mall.
The company does, however, own property behind the current facility and on the other side of Interstate 79, so the option to grow is there.
The outlet mall was built in four phases between August 1994 and November 1996. Its success brought demand for other services in the area.
"Whenever the center was built in 1994, there weren't the hotels, the gas stations, so it all sprawled afterward based on the demand," Czerwinski said.
The township experienced a rash of commercial development in that area shortly after the outlets opened. Though development continues, it had slowed in the past five years but is now picking up again.
"Generally, development has been at a slow to moderate pace," said township administrator Barb Brown. "There's been kind of a boon here right after Born II Run."
The Born II Run athletic complex, which cost $11.5 million to build, opened in April 2004 but closed in December 2004 after owners filed for bankruptcy that October. Officials overseeing the legal proceedings brought by people owed money for doing construction work or financing for the project hope the facility will eventually be sold and reopened.
Meanwhile, the athletic facility's presence has brought other businesses. Consumer Direct Sports relocated from Slippery Rock to the area in 2003, and in 2005 construction was begun on two new hotels — a Microtel and a Hampton Inn and Suites. A new car wash is also under construction.
Brown assumes the township will continue to grow.
Township supervisors have already approved a preliminary plan for a Wal-Mart Supercenter and mini-mall northeast of the Route 208 and Interstate 79 intersection. Though a rezoning decision by supervisors to make that project possible has been appealed to the courts by some residents, developers continue to prepare for its construction.
Also under construction is the stretch of Route 208 between Oakley Kelley Road and Route 258, which is the township's main commercial thoroughfare.
The $17.9 million project, which is scheduled for August 2007 completion, involves widening and reconstructing the road to six lanes, which will require the construction of a new bridge over Interstate 79. Exit and entrance ramps to the interstate will also be lengthened and widened to reduce congestion.
The state Department of Transportation is leading that project.
According to Brown, the township has been working with the PennDOT for 10 years to get that project done. Work began last fall.
Hopes are high the widened road will reduce the traffic congestion in the area that has existed since Prime Outlets opened and also will foster further commercial expansion.
"I think it's going to help the whole area grow. It's already growing," Czerwinski said.
