Last updated on June 13th, 2024
Speedway will occupy a 5-acre area for a commercial fueling station and convenience store at the site of the former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie (P&LE) Railroad Yard in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania.
The development, which is located within a federally designated Opportunity Zone, will complement ongoing operations of the CSX Intermodal Terminal, which opened in 2017. Speedway will include five commercial fueling lanes, 18 dedicated tractor-trailer parking spaces and a convenience store with a fast-casual restaurant.
As part of this project, Speedway will also perform off-site improvements near its property, which includes replacing Churchill Street’s brick road with new concrete pavement. The new store is scheduled to be finished in September 2019. The projected total cost of the Speedway development is $5.6 million.
“McKees Rocks is now realizing the development dividends of CSX’s $70 million investment in its Pittsburgh intermodal terminal,” said Craig Rippole of Trinity Commercial Development LLC. “The marketability and development potential of the remaining acreage is unmatched, especially given the multiple modes of transportation serving the site, superior roadway access, proximity to Downtown Pittsburgh, and the capital investment incentives associated with the Opportunity Zone designation.”
To date, the redevelopment of the P&LE brownfield has received more than $2.7 million in state funding to assist with the continued redevelopment of the site, which includes a $667,274 Industrial Sites Reuse grant, $984,795 Penn Works grant and $1.1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant. Allegheny County provided a $250,000 Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund grant to help make off-site traffic improvements. Additionally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided a $600,000 Brownfields grant for the environmental assessment.
In March, State Senator Wayne Fontana secured a $275,000 Multimodal Transportation Fund grant to start construction on a second entrance to the park, which will help the community manage increased business activity and provide direct access to West Carson Street (State Route 51).
“Opportunity is knocking in McKees Rocks, and the Rocks Multimodal Park is at the center of it,” said State Senator Wayne Fontana. “Speedway’s decision to develop in McKees Rocks is just one more domino falling into place in what will become a larger community revitalization story.”
“We recognized the importance of not only working with CSX to maximize its operation, but also to collaborate with our elected leadership and community partners to create an environment that stimulates growth and redevelopment,” said Paul Krisby, McKees Rocks Borough president. “While it’s been more than a decade in the making, we’re excited and proud of the fact that this brownfield is beginning to deliver significant tax revenue to the Borough.”
“Our region is ideally-situated central to half the population of the U.S. and Canada, and the intermodal terminal is located in the center of the Pittsburgh region. Today’s announcement is just the beginning of the growing opportunities in McKees Rocks, with revitalization well under way in the community as well as the industrial site. Congratulations to everyone involved,” said Bill Flanagan, chief corporate relations officer of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.
The former P&LE Railroad Yard spans 105 acres with 53 acres in Stowe Township and 52 acres in McKees Rocks. In the coming months, vertical construction will begin on a 26,400-s.f. industrial building.
