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The developer of a 35,000-square-foot mixed-use building planned for Lancaster County recently landed a state loan of more than $1.69 million as part of a program to bolster economic development in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority announced approval of the Lancaster County loan and 10 others Monday. The loans have low interest rates – all of the ones approved this week were fixed at 2 percent for 5- to 15-year terms – and are meant to encourage businesses to retain and create jobs in Pennsylvania.
Terex Utilities, a South Dakota-based company that makes equipment for utility trucks, will occupy 65 percent of the multi-tenant building in Lancaster County. The building is planned for Electronics Way in West Hempfield Township, near Route 30, and is being developed by a group called Electronics Way LLC.
The loan was facilitated through EDC Finance Corp., a Lancaster County nonprofit that connects businesses with state and local economic development incentives.
Two Lebanon County farms also received loans through the program, according to Monday’s announcement. South Lebanon Township-based Wen-Crest Farms LLC was approved for a $300,000 loan to help with purchase of a combine, and farmers Matthew and Katrina Martin received the OK for a $400,000 loan to put toward construction of three 63-by-500-foot broiler houses for raising organic birds.
Other projects to receive a boost from the most recent round of PIDA loans were in Allegheny, Berks, Bucks, Clearfield, Franklin, Lycoming and Venango counties. These projects received a total of $7.4 million in loans and, state officials say, will support 800 existing jobs and create more than 125 new jobs over the next three years.
State officials recently announced plans to strengthen requirements for making sure businesses that receive these kinds of economic incentives follow through on promises to create and retain jobs in Pennsylvania.