Sep 28, 2020 4 min read

Mike Swisher remembers his first meeting with Jack Piatt so vividly, it seems as if it occurred 35 minutes ago, not 35 years.

Swisher was a young real estate developer in Florida in 1985, when Piatt hired his firm to build a golf course community in Palm Beach. Swisher was impressed by the energetic, upbeat visionary from Southwestern Pennsylvania, owner of Millcraft Investments.

“I knew he was a remarkable person then,” said Swisher, now principal of Southpointe-based Horizon Properties. “He definitely stood out in a room. Jack was tireless and a grand thinker with great ideas. You’d say you’re going to build a house, he’d say ‘Let’s build a city.’

“It takes great people to come up with ideas, but greater people who make them reality.”

Southpointe is a sterling example. The mixed-use park off Interstate 79 in Cecil Township was partly Piatt’s idea, and he helped to make it a booming reality.

Jack Boyd Piatt, 92, of Chartiers Township, died Friday evening surrounded by family members. He was born in Washington on Jan. 8, 1928, graduated from Trinity High School and became a successful entrepreneur. Piatt balanced a nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic with a life philosophy to “live, work and play.”

He launched Millcraft in 1957 as a small machine shop that – through blood, sweat, tears and partnership – grew into a diverse company with ties to numerous industries. And continued to grow. Then in the mid-1980s, on a large tract of mostly undeveloped land, Piatt discovered what would become one of his calling cards.

In a July 2018 interview with the Observer-Reporter, he said he was cruising down I-79 with Delvin Miller, horse racing legend and Washington County icon, when Miller said, “we should build a golf course here.” The area was heavily wooded, except for Western Center, a state residential facility for people with intellectual disabilities that sat high on a hill.

Piatt was a major proponent of constructing a large park, one that could provide an economic lift a decade after much of Washington County’s industrial base declined, but would have multiple uses.

“We had a vision, which included a lot of green, and adopted the philosophy of ‘work, live and play,'” he said.

Jack Piatt worked with county officials over time and after the park finally got a go-ahead, he hired Swisher to craft the master plan for Southpointe. The private-public enterprise gained traction and opened for business March 13, 1993, with Accutrex Inc. as the initial tenant.

Southpointe now spans 806 acres – the original 589, plus 217 for Southpointe II and is home to about 300 businesses, about 1,000 residents and a picturesque 18-hole golf course.

Diana Irey Vaughan, a county commissioner since 1996, knew him well.

“Jack Piatt is a legend in Washington County,” she said. “He made an incredible impact in communities from the city of Washington to Southpointe, with his efforts in promoting economic development. He was a kind and forgiving man who always wanted to elevate others in his success.

“Jack also inspired many throughout his life to dream a larger dream. He had an impact on my life, encouraging to strive to do more than I ever thought possible. He was so full of life.”

Millcraft expanded its reach to downtown Pittsburgh in 2005, when it converted the former Lazarus department store into Piatt Place, featuring condominiums, offices and boutiques. The company completed other projects in the city and the Pittsburgh region.

Jack’s sons, Lucas and Marcus, work for Millcraft. Another son, Rod, is president and chief operating officer of Horizon Properties.

The family said in a statement Sunday that Jack was “unmatched in his entrepreneurial spirit and someone who made a huge impact in everything he touched. He touched the heart and spirit of everyone he came in contact with and we are all much better to have known him.”

Funeral arrangements are private, although his family plans a celebration of life event for family and friends in 2021 that will include fireworks.

Jack Piatt leaves behind a sizable family: four sons, two daughters, 17 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchldren.