Construction junction
CRANBERRY TWP — The township's steady and continued growth is no accident. It's all part of the plan, township leaders say.
In 2017, Cranberry Township had the highest total value of new construction in the last five years with $153 million, according to township documents, and the highest construction value from residential units in 10 years.
Total construction value last year was $20 million over 2016. In the last 10 years, 2017 was the third highest year for construction value, behind 2008 with $206 million and 2012 with $160 million.
“That is actual construction dollars,” said Ron Henshaw, township director of planning and development. “This is bricks and mortar, earth-moving, building dollars.”
Last year brought 480 new residential units to the township, creating $107.6 million in construction value, an increase of over $48 million from 2016. Of those, 310 are apartments, 109 are single family detached homes, 47 are single family attached homes and 14 are mobile homes.
The continued growth validates the township's planning process that began in earnest in 1995 when township leaders updated the comprehensive plan, said Dick Hadley, chairman of township supervisors.
Township leaders saw growth coming to the township after I-279 opened, giving the township an almost direct line to Pittsburgh.
“We needed to get our arms around it to try to manage that growth, to not be a victim of growth,” Hadley said.
So they looked at how the township should be shaped as it grew, taking special care with quality of life issues like putting in more sidewalks to create and connect pedestrian pathways, developing new parks and other amenities that “people want to see in their communities,” Hadley said.
“What these numbers show you and prove is that that's all working,” he said. “People are coming here because they recognize that their investment is going to be protected for the long term. They want to be in a community like this or have a business in a community like this.”This was the biggest year for apartments coming to the township since 2013, when the township got 358 apartment units. Henshaw said it's likely from phase 2 of the Village of Cranberry Woods that was completed this year. That development added 310 apartment units and 10 townhome units.People are being drawn to housing that is more dense and within walking distance to work and stores, Henshaw said. Thanks to its streetscapes program that requires sidewalks, light posts and other pedestrian connections, Cranberry is becoming more suitable for this type of development, he said.But they still like to see a mix of housing options, and take pride that Cranberry offers choices for different people's needs.“This achieves balance,” Henshaw said. “We want something for everyone. Having multifamily places helps keep young folks around or even older folks who don't want to maintain a single family home.”Nonresidential permits were down in 2017 with 100 permits issued, the lowest number since 2011. Non-residential construction value was $41.6 million last year. In 2016, 148 non-residential permits were issued.
Last year there were 170 permits for residential alterations, creating $3.8 million in construction value.Henshaw said the numbers of residential and nonresidential permits seem to flip-flop each year, but what remains consistent is that buildings are continuing to go up across the township.The township has had more than $100 million in construction value each year since 2010.While no year will top 2008 when the Westinghouse headquarters was built — $206 million in construction value that year — Henshaw anticipates this year to be a big one as well for permits and construction in the township.Township supervisors approved 68 land development applications in 2017.“Cranberry is a place for choices,” Henshaw said. “Hopefully we continue to grow that.”
