SOUTH BUFFALO TWP, Armstrong County — Northpointe is ready to grow.

A $950,000 project is underway to create two new “pad ready” lots in the industrial park for commercial or retail development.

“They were done speculatively,” said Justin Nolder, assistant business manager of the Armstrong County industrial Development Council.

The park, in operation since 2001, has 10 buildings with uses in manufacturing and manufacturing support. Indiana University of Pennsylvania also has a branch campus there.

There are four lots already prepared for development that would be in the manufacturing or industrial uses: 5, 6, 12, and 19-acre pads.

“We anticipate selling those in the near future,” Nolder said.

A state grant paid for work on the new lots, a 3-acre site and a 12-acre site on 25 acres near the park's entrance. The excavation and other work should be finished by fall, Nolder said.

When complete, all of the permitting will be finished, That with Northpointe's integrated storm water management system “allows projects to break ground very quickly ... within 30 to 45 days,” Nolder said.

Additionally, Nolder points out the industrial park is a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which means a development would be free of state and local taxes until the end of 2023.