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Shopping center in Bethel Park to be revamped

By Cara Host for The Almanac writer@thealmanac.Net 3 min read

Bethel Park Shopping Center will get a bit of a facelift over the next five years.

The company that owns the complex on Library Road plans to demolish several smaller buildings at the edge of the shopping center and construct five new buildings to replace them. Bethel Park Municipal Council approved some of those plans during its Nov. 13 meeting.

“This is an exciting redevelopment along Route 88,” Councilman Paul Dixon said. “I think this will really clean up and beautify that area.”

The plaza’s main tenants, Walmart and Giant Eagle, will not be affected, nor will the Wendy’s restaurant at Library and Brightwood roads. Other adjacent buildings, such as ones that house Firestone Complete Auto Care, Rice Inn, Rita’s Italian Ice and Game Stop, will be razed and replaced.

The changes won’t happen overnight. Brixmor Property Group of New York City, which owns the shopping center, will replace the buildings one at a time over the next five years or so.

Mark Salma, vice president of redevelopment for Brixmor, said he expects to build one new building each year. Next year the company plans to replace the building that now houses Firestone Complete Auto Care with a new 9,000-square-foot structure.

“We share the excitement about this project and we relish the opportunity to redevelop this area,” Salma said.

The timeline may change depending on when lease agreements expire and other factors. Salma said his company will work with their tenants and try to reach a solution so their businesses are not adversely affected.

Since the project is a fairly protracted one to be accomplished in various stages, council approved plans for the first two phases Nov. 13 and Salma asked council to consider holding a special meeting in December to consider approving plans for the third phase.

“We’re trying to get all the necessary approvals before the end of the year,” Salma said.

In another matter, council adopted the 2018 budget, which does not include a tax increase. The property tax rate will remain at 2.53 mills. From that figure, 2.19 mills is dedicated to general fund purposes and 0.34 of a mill is set aside for the fire department.

The $25.8 million general fund budget includes spending increases of about five percent.

Council also approved the refinancing of bonds that the municipality incurred about three years ago to build Bethel Park Fire Department’s new station on Brightwood Road. Bethel Park stands to save about $300,000 by refinancing the debt and council decided to use that money to reduce the debt service payments over the life of the bonds.

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