Published: January 27, 2008 10:00 pm            

Route 22 corridor sees construction boom

MUNDYS CORNER — As a nationwide housing slump continues along with a hefty increase in foreclosures, the area along the recently improved Route 22 corridor from Ebensburg to the Indiana County line is flourishing.

And not only with family homes, but also with the prospect of new businesses.

Last year, Jackson Township boasted 87 new construction permits valued at $1.7 million. According to township Manager Dave Hirko, those figures include four new homes and remodeling projects such as new additions or garages.

And in neighboring Cambria Township, new home construction topped out at about $3.4 million – and that figure doesn’t include double-wide mobile homes or modulars.

Officials credit the stable and growing housing market to a good school district, rural living and access to an improved Route 22.

“People here really like the area and being close to Route 22,” Hirko said, adding that the township is only about six miles from Johnstown.

“We hear from people who move in, and they say (the area) is rural, but you’re not isolated from conveniences.”

He expects the growth to continue.

Hirko already has received a new home construction permit valued at $165,000 for 2008, and Beth Ann Lipsinic at Cambria County Building Code Enforcement Agency said she has seen permit applications cross her desk for Cambria Township as well.

“There’s been a good many subdivisions of land, and there is more coming up,” Hirko said. “I think we’ll far surpass last year’s number in 2008, based upon the inquiries we’ve had.”

And some of those inquiries have been from prospective business owners.

“One is looking into a car wash near Mundys Corner,” Hirko said. “Another is looking at storage units and a warehouse along Route 22.”

Lipsinic said that, because her agency handles a large volume of building permits for numerous municipalities in Cambria County, she could not immediately determine if any commercial interest has been shown yet in Cambria Township.

“We get permit applications every day,” Lipsinic said. “I do know we have gotten a number of applications for new homes already.”

Ebensburg Borough Manager Dan Penatzer agreed that new businesses will likely flock to the Route 22 corridor, west of the borough.

“It’s mostly toward Cambria Township,” Penatzer said. “That’s because there’s no property available in the borough’s portion of Route 22.”

Hirko said the key to continued growth in both municipalities is infrastructure.

“There are people waiting to build or develop in areas where infrastructure is being planned,” Hirko said, referring to the Brazil Lane-Cherrywood development. “We’re still waiting for the Brazil-Cherrywood sewer project to be funded. When that happens, we’ll have new homes all over that area.”

He estimated about 50 percent of the new homes being built in the township are people who don’t currently reside there but do have ties to the area.

        

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