Evolving from Stockyards to Office Park, Governor Rendell Calls Lancaster Project 'Transformative'

Says State Must Continue to Invest in Projects that Put People to Work, Revitalize Communities

LANCASTER, Pa., April 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G. Rendell today visited the historic Lancaster Stockyards to show how state investments can leverage private sector funds to revitalize communities while creating new jobs.

The Lancaster Stockyards -- once the premier cattle stockyards east of the Mississippi River -- are being transformed from a dilapidated eyesore to a high-tech office park with 215,000 square feet of space that could create as many as 300 new jobs within four years.

This initial phase of the project involves two buildings, both currently under construction and the tenants for which are already in place: CoreSource, a leading provider of employee benefits processing, and Cargas Systems, a leading software development company.

"This is an exciting project that embodies how our nation's economy has changed since the stockyards originally opened in 1895," said Governor Rendell as he joined the project's developers and local leaders for a ceremonial block-laying ceremony at the office park's construction site.

"This project also shows how the commonwealth can put its resources to work helping older businesses and neighborhoods transform and reinvent themselves to compete in today's global economy," added the Governor. "This project will take what was once a premier cattle stockyard – and was more recently an area of significant urban blight – and turn it into a first-class office park and a center for economic development in the Red Rose City."

The office park, to be developed as a research and development center with other office space, is designed as a "green" facility in accordance with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) principles. It will serve as an economic hub and catalyst for further redevelopment within the Stockyards District of the city of Lancaster and Manheim Township.

Governor Rendell said the commonwealth invested more than $14 million in grant funding for the project, including $10 million over 10 years from the Infrastructure and Facilities Improvement Program, $2.75 million from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, $1 million from the Housing and Redevelopment Assistance Program, $239,500 from the High Performance Building Program, and $93,600 from the Solar Energy Program.

"What we're doing in here in Lancaster is exactly what we've been doing in communities all across Pennsylvania," Governor Rendell said. "We're using our resources strategically to improve the quality of life of our communities and to help them attract new businesses. This investment in the stockyards project today will serve as a catalyst for future growth and revitalization."

The Governor noted that his proposed budget, approved by the House of Representatives in March, includes new support for proven economic development programs, including opportunity grants, customized job training, infrastructure development, and infrastructure improvement grants.

"We need to continue to invest in Pennsylvania's communities, businesses and people," said Governor Rendell. "Doing so means jobs, expanded businesses, and other projects like what we're seeing here at the Lancaster Stockyards.

"We can afford these investments if we have the will to right the wrongs in our tax system and make common-sense changes, such as enacting a reasonable severance tax so that big oil and gas companies pay their fair share, ending Pennsylvania's distinction of being the only state that does not tax certain tobacco products, and closing corporate tax loopholes so that big businesses start paying what they owe."

For more information on Governor Rendell's proposed 2010-2011 budget, visit www.pa.gov.

For more information on Pennsylvania's community revitalization and economic development efforts, visit www.NewPA.com or call 1-866-466-3972.

Media contacts:

Luke Webber, DCED; 717-783-1132

Michael Smith, Governor's Office; 717-783-1116

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor