[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by markson33

I'm really excited about Nakama signing a lease on the North Side. That project wouldn't have been able to get off the ground without a good tenant. Hopefully they keep some of the architectural integrity.

I don't know that the lower estimates on the Marcellus gas is going to have that big of an impact. Obviously a couple of the large drillers are going to slow down a bit, but we are still close to the beginning of this process. I work with a lot of Marcellus related companies and they are expanding like crazy - its pretty constant. A lot of companies are just starting to look at the region.

If the cracker plant lands in Aliquippa (and I am guessing it will) then you could see a huge influx of jobs in Beaver County.

Speaking of the possible cracker plant development, found this on the Tribune-Review website:

Pennsylvania eyes tax deals to lure Shell's 'ethane cracker'
By Timothy Puko
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, January 28, 2012


Big businesses could be in line for millions of dollars in new tax breaks in Pennsylvania under legislation that may be critical in the state's bid to best Ohio and West Virginia for a petrochemicals plant.

The bill has quietly moved toward passage as state officials court Royal Dutch Shell plc, which plans to spend as much as $4 billion to build an "ethane cracker" in the tri-state area. The plant would create several hundred jobs.

Senate Bill 1237 would expand Keystone Opportunity Zones, special areas that grant businesses broad tax cuts, credits and exemptions to spur economic development. Businesses that invest at least $1 billion and create at least 400 permanent, full-time jobs would get an extra five years of tax breaks -- 15 years in all -- with more breaks for manufacturing and processing businesses, under provisions in the bill.

"By far, (Keystone Opportunity Zones are) a huge competitive advantage for the commonwealth when companies are looking at Pennsylvania," said Steve Kratz, spokesman for the state Department of Community and Economic Development. "The first thing they say to our program office is that 'we're interested in Keystone Opportunity Zones.' "

The Corbett administration supports the legislation because it generally supports the Keystone Opportunity Zones as a way to pump investment into struggling areas that otherwise might not attract it, Kratz said. He declined to discuss what the state has offered Shell.

State leaders have closely guarded their talks with Shell. Offering a sweetened Keystone Opportunity Zone is probably the best way to compete with Ohio and West Virginia, several former state economic officials said.

SB 1237 would allow for 15 new zone expansions statewide. Billion-dollar investors would get an extra five years of no taxes, and manufacturing and processing businesses would get new breaks on state corporate income and capital stock franchise taxes.

The benefits would easily be worth millions of dollars to Shell, political officials and experts said.

Industry estimates claim a $3.2 billion ethane cracker, which would take advantage of the region's burgeoning natural gas business to convert gases into products such as plastic, could create 17,000 jobs in Pennsylvania's chemical industry.

Other manufacturing plants are likely to grow or be built to buy and work with the plastics that Shell creates, sparking officials in the three states to fight for a rare chance to revitalize their chemical industries.

"It has been the most powerful tool we have had in competing for business," said state Sen. John Blake, D-Scranton, a co-sponsor and former acting secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development. "The benefits of the KOZ are powerful enough that they'll drive a business decision."

There are more than 60 Keystone Opportunity Zones in the nine Western Pennsylvania counties, including several in Beaver County.

The Aliquippa Industrial Park on the Ohio River in Beaver County includes a Keystone Opportunity Zone. That former LTV Steel site has 300 to 400 acres of available space, access to freight rail and a dock. Owner Charles J. Betters declined comment, citing confidentiality agreements.

Though they would support using the legislation to court Shell, Blake and another co-sponsor, Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, said they signed on because they believe in the Keystone Opportunity Zone program.

Officials in the governor's office and House leadership said the bill was introduced irrespective of Shell's plans, but they acknowledged that the program and the measure are helpful.

The legislation awaits a fiscal note in the House Appropriations Committee, and leaders plan to bring it up for a full vote when they resume work next month, said House Republican spokesman Stephen Miskin.



Read more: Pennsylvania eyes tax deals to lure Shell's 'ethane cracker' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt...#ixzz1kmwPXo29

Considering this, I really hope Pennsylvania comes out on top here.

Also, there was an article about AVR asking the Port Authority for advice on how to develop the rail line from Steel Plaza out to Arnold. From the looks of things, it looks like financing for this project is already in place.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_778873.html