Two big additions are coming to the Highridge Business Park in Cass Township.
The Onvo Travel Plaza is between 60-90 days away from opening, according to Schuylkill Economic Development Corp. President Frank Zukas, who provided Coal Region Canary a sprawling tour of Highridge earlier this week.
In addition to the Onvo location, at an adjacent lot, approval has been granted for a 112-room Towneplace Suites, a Marriott brand, which is an extended-stay hotel.
Onvo to Open in Schuylkill County
Workers broke ground for the Onvo Travel Plaza took place about a year ago. The project is nearing completion.
Onvo has already posted job openings for cashiers and Burger King employees on its website.
The Onvo Travel Plaza, Cass Township, will include a Burger King with a seating area, as well as offering ready-to-eat meals from the convenience store.
There will be showers and a lounge for truckers.
In the first phase of the project, parking will be available for about 45 trucks, with the opportunity to expand to 115 parking spaces.
Renee Kreyling, manager of the Country Inn & Suites, in the HIghridge Business Park, said that she supports the ongoing growth in the area. The Country Inn & Suites is located on 20 acres and has 78 rooms.
“I’m glad to be getting the truck stop, it will clear up congestion,” Kreyling said. “And it will be nice to have a 24-hour convenience store with ATM and Burger King.”
Extended Stay Hotel Granted Approval at Highridge
Approval of a Towneplace Suites was recently granted by the Cass Township Planning Commission and Cass Township Board of Supervisors, pending a development agreement.
The hotel will be located adjacent to the travel plaza with a separate entrance.
Suites will include full kitchens, with refrigerators, dishwashers, microwaves and basic kitchenware. The rooms include workstations with high-speed internet.
In Pennsylvania, Towneplace Suites by Marriot are currently located in Harrisburg and Scranton.
Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2025.
Existing Highridge Businesses Have Grown
Several long-term Highridge Business Park businesses (Tyson Foods, Walmart, Wegmans, Fanellli Trucking and Warehousing, have added on to their original warehouse size, increased their areas available for employee and tractor-trailer parking and increased their number of employees.
Ringtown-based window manufacturer Jeld-Wen has expanded its business by adding a 350,000-square-foot manufacturing center for doors at Highridge.
Wegman’s owns a 52-acre lot adjacent to its current facility, which is available for planned growth and added parking. Zukas said that Cass Township has already approved that project.
Fanelli’s has optimized their location by adding Penske Leasing, where technicians can also work on CNG-fueled vehicles.
Trillium, a compressed natural gas supplier, opened a filling station at Highridge about five years ago.
More recent occupants include a Saks off Fifth fulfillment center, Zander, an LED lighting manufacturer, and Ashley Furniture.
“The demand (for warehousing, manufacturing and distribution) is still there in the marketplace,” Zukas said. “And , so far, we have the available workforce.”
“Our Walmart is the largest single Walmart food distributor in the country, and this Tyson location is the company’s busiest,” Zukas said. “The Dollar General warehouse handles a majority of Dollar General outbound fresh produce.”
In the Works
In the Butler Township portion of Highridge Business Park, NorthPoint Development has approval to build two one-million-square-foot buildings.
Available in Highridge are the 26-acre lot 12, with a pad ready for a 262,400-square-foot building, and the 6.5-acre lot 6, with a pad ready for a 75,000 square-foot building. A portion of the building used by Saks off Fifith is available, with 357,500 square feet industrial class A space available for sublease.
Nearby, across from Amazon’s Tremont facility at Route 209 and Interstate 81, is a proposed 426,910-square-foot logistics center, with permits in place.
North of Highridge, along the Interstate 81 corridor is the proposed Mountain Valley Logistics Center, with two buildings, each more than one million square feet. Those are located in Mahanoy and Ryan townships and developed by NorthPoint Development.
“In this marketplace it’s important to be ready to build, permitted, all infrastructure access, utilities in place,” Zukas said. “The sites can be under construction in 30 days – without everything in place it would be at least a year or more.”
Highridge Improvement District Economic Impact
Ongoing operations at the park support 7,187 jobs in Schuylkill County and generate $416.2 million in labor income. Expressed as an average per job this is equal to $57,910 annually, or $27.84 per hour.
SEDCO created the Highridge Business Prk in the late 1990s. It includes parts of Cass, Foster and Butler townships, and the Minersville Area and North Schuylkill school districts.
More than $4.7 millions in real estate taxes is collected from the park. Highridge businesses send more than $1 million to the country. In real estate taxes, the Minersville School District receives $2.3 million and North Schuylkill receives $794,656.
Butler Township receives $180,990, Cass Township receives $187,032, and Foster Township receives $95,276.
SEDCO estimates that continued growth will support an additional 3,500 jobs and generate $201.5 million in new labor income. If future expansion occurs as projected, annual tax revenue would rise to $10.7 million in local revenue within Schuylkill County.
“We have great partners who are critical to the success of economic growth, such as the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority, the county commissioners, the school districts and the townships,” Zukas said. “They are all part of the team.”
“It has taken a lot of cooperation and work,” he added. “And it has panned out in the end.”
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