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Construction of Greene County rec center delayed

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WAYNESBURG – The start of construction on Greene County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s new EQT Rec Center is being pushed back after the foundation moved the location of the center to a new site at EverGreene Technology Park.

The foundation originally purchased property for the 60,000-square-foot community recreation center at EverGreene last June. On Friday, it closed on the purchase of another parcel in the park, two lots closer to the park entrance, that officials hope will be a more prominent location for visitors.

“As construction was about to begin, we had the opportunity to switch to another lot in the EverGreene Technology Park,” foundation President Sheila Stewart said. “We weighed our options and decided that it was in the best interests of the project to move down the street.”

The new lot is more prominent, Stewart said.

“It’s just a much better location there at the entry way to the park,” she said. “It’s going to have much greater visibility than (the previous site at) the back of the park,” she said. The property also provides better space for the proposed building.

The foundation had hoped the building would be completed before the end of this year. That will now be delayed until later next year, Stewart said.

“If the winter is kind to us, we’re looking at early fall,” she said.

The foundation has been developing plans for the recreation center for the last three years and held a groundbreaking ceremony at the park in April.

The $6.5 million center will feature an indoor soccer field, basketball court, fitness center, track and multipurpose rooms.

The land transaction for the recent move involved trading one property for another and an additional payment of $75,000, said Don Chappel, executive director of Greene County Industrial Developments Inc., which owns the park. The new lot was priced at $575,000, while the foundation’s original lot was sold for $500,000.

“This is a better piece of land,” Chappel said. “The building they plan will fit better on this site and it should save them money in construction costs.”

He noted the foundation will be able to use an existing storm water retention pond and will not have to develop a new pond for its project.

“Greene County Industrial Developments looks forward to adding the recreation center to EverGreene Technology Park to compliment the other businesses already located in the park,” Chappel said.

There have been several delays and changes in the project over the past few years.

The foundation had initially proposed building the center on Oakview Drive in Franklin Township, across from the Lions Club baseball field. However, costs associated with utility relocations, stormwater management and road upgrades forced it to consider property at EverGreene.

The center is named after the EQT Corp., the project’s naming sponsor. The foundation is constructing the center with its own funds and with money raised through sponsorships and donations.

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