Companies break ground for Starpointe building
BURGETTSTOWN – The Parekhs wanted new homes, bigger homes, for their businesses – but had to wait awhile.
Their precious metals and herbal-foods firms threatened to outgrow their Allegheny County facilities years ago. The father-son principals looked for new digs in the Steel City, and though diligent, it proved to be futile.
“We had been looking for about a decade. Pittsburgh just doesn’t offer much space,” said Abhishek Parekh, speaking for himself and his father, Hasmukh.
They found a location in Washington County six months ago and are now on their way.
Ground was ceremonially broken at Starpointe business park Monday morning for HRP Metals Inc. and Komal Herbals Inc., established companies of the Parekhs. They plan to build a 26,000- to 27,000-square-foot building on 4.7 acres they are leasing, 2.9 of which are usable.
“We hope to expand to 60,000 square feet in the not-too-distant future,” said the father, president of the firms.
HRP Metals currently is in Sewickley, Komal Herbals in Robinson Township, Allegheny County. So their moves into one building in northwestern Washington County will leave them reasonably close to their client bases, as well as Routes 22/30, the Parkway West, the planned Southern Beltway and Pittsburgh International Airport. And, of course, the proposed cracker plant that may materialize in Beaver County.
Actual work on this pad-ready site is expected to begin in September, with the opening targeted for spring 2016. Desmone Architects of Lawrenceville will be doing the heavy lifting. PNC Bank has handled the financing.
The Parekhs weren’t the only ones looking.
“We’re with a company we had been trying to get for years and years,” said Dan Reitz, executive director of the Washington County Council on Economic Development, developer of the 1,153-acre business park in Hanover Township. Much of the property is reclaimed strip mine land.
Reitz announced proudly that the park, which opened in October 2002, now has 350 employees making an average annual wage of $43,000. He added that only two plots remain in the 148-acre Phase I of the development, and that “everything else is under contract.”
“Dan said they had been trying to get you for years. We feel the same way,” Severo Miglioretti II, a PNC vice president, said of the father-son partnership.
These are not fledgling businesses that will be coming in. HRP, which stands for High Reliability Precious Metals, was formed in 1993. Komal Herbals launched in 2005. It manufactures whole-herb foods and supplements that follow the Ayurveda system, a traditional medicine system in India.
“They’re all high-nutrient items,” said Abhishek, vice president of the companies. He added that yoga will be part of the operation.
Location, location, location is the traditional real estate mantra, and this one pleases the Parekhs.
“This is a very strategic place for us,” Hasmukh said. “It’s close to highways and is very convenient to the airport.”
It will be more so when the Southern Beltway is finished in about three years.
“The people we’ve dealt with (on Starpointe) have been friendly and helpful,” the father continued. “We appreciate what they have done. They make us feel comfortable.
“We’re proud to be part of this park.”