Business will Build New Plant in Clearfield County
By: Barb Consiglio
Updated: July 22, 2010
LAWRENCE TWP, CLEARFIELD COUNTY---The Clearfield Foundation has recruited a new business to their commerce park, and they say several other businesses are interested in building there as well.
The Clearfield Foundation owns all of the real estate in the Clearfield Firemen’s Commerce Park in Lawrence Township, and for years they’ve been transforming the once hazardous piece of land into a park that brings new business to Clearfield County.
“It’s a former strip and deep mine property,” said the Clearfield Foundation’s Executive Director, Tom Stojek, “So over the last six and a half years we’ve been redeveloping and mitigating this site, and transforming an eyesore into a state-of-the-art business park.”
The latest company to purchase land at the Clearfield Firemen’s Commerce Park is HRI, Inc., which makes custom asphalt products for road construction projects.
HRI has an existing plant in Bradford Twp. that will remain open, but their ability to expand at that location is limited, and the amenities at the commerce park drew them to Lawrence Twp.
They just recently made investments there, but they’re landlocked,” Stojek said of HRI’s Bradford Twp. location, “But back to our real estate, we have, not only all the infrastructure, but we have rail, and we have a great location next to Interstate 80, exit 120, we have the airport, so that was very crucial to them and their business decision.”
The new facility will be built on Industrial Park Rd. behind Lowe’s off of SR 879, and residents can expect dozens of new jobs to be created in association with the plant.
“The number announced was around 20-some permanent jobs at the plant itself, but there will be a ton of construction jobs,” said Chairman of the Lawrence Township Board of Supervisors, Bill Lawhead, “I believe the railroad will benefit, R.J. Corman, from this also because they will be bringing a lot of the emulsions in railroad cars. They have to construct, I believe, three new spurs off of the existing spur for storage.”
The Lawrence Twp. Supervisors approved the building plans at their meeting on Tuesday, and they say construction can begin anytime.
