South Fayette outlines near-future developments
Police chief John Phoennik congratulates officer Glenn Davis on 36 1/2 years of service. “Even when I was a rookie, this guy was showing me how to stay calm under pressure,” he said. Davis retires Feb. 28.
Community development director Andrea Iglar poses with South Fayette High School student Rachel Pollock, who designed the basic logo that the township went on to have professionally designed.
Several restaurants and a local bank will soon be moving in next to Aldi at 3013 Washington Pike. Brentwood Bank, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Jimmy John’s and Starbucks are all slated to open up by mid-summer, according to township manager Ryan Eggleston.
The three-building project, costing $6.5 million, will have Starbucks and Chipotle opening by the end of May, weather permitting, according to developer Dale Greco. The remaining businesses are slated to open in the summer.
Developer CDM Equity Group, LLC received approval from the South Fayette board of commissioners at their Feb. 18 meeting to proceed with preliminary plans for a hotel and bank at the South Fayette Commons site at 179 Hickory Grade Road.
“The tenants haven’t been identified yet, but (CDM) still needs to meet one more time before we give full approval,” Eggleston said. The nearly three-acre plan also includes space for a retail business.
Eggleston also said a revised Request For Proposal document for leasing and now potentially purchasing the former Star City site next to UPMC Children’s South would be made available online Feb. 23.
Also at the voting meeting, it took some tough words from Laurel Development’s attorney to convince the board to take action to approve their conditional use plan for Pinnacle Point, a proposed 92-lot residential community near the 1000 block of Old Oakdale Road.
“This is not how you do things,” Bill Sittig said, “you don’t present detailed conditions like this the night of a potential vote. We’re showing up and (the township) is saying, ‘move the entrance 55 feet.’ To be able to respond to this level of specificity is not feasible.”
Township engineer Mike Benton presented the board and Laurel Developers with waivers amending the conditional use plan, including the movement of the entrance to allow easier flow of traffic, inclusion of an emergency entrance road, and various emergency access points to storm water basins. At the suggestion of Sittig, an amendment was added, allowing “staff to modify conditions going forward,” and the board then voted 5-0 to approve the plan with the proposed waivers.
In other business, the board recognized police officer Glenn Davis for 36 and a half years of service in the department. He’s retiring Feb. 28. The township also recognized Rachel Pollock, a student at South Fayette High School, for her contribution to the new township logo. She provided the basis for the professionally designed logo.