The Pocono Mountains Economic Development Corporation has four primary goals:
• Retain existing businesses
• Create jobs for Monroe County citizens
• Expand the county's tax base
• Attract new investment
Michelle Bisbing, PMEDC director of marketing and board chair of Penn's Northeast, said the Pocono Mountains Economic Development Corporation (PMEDC) is the primary economic development organization serving Monroe County and is responsible for helping to retain existing businesses, create job opportunities, expand the county's tax base and attract new investment to the community. Bisbing said financial support is generously provided annually by the Monroe County Commissioners to help further our mission.
“Some of Monroe County's most significant challenges include the need for the expansion of roads, sewage and water systems, and natural gas lines,” said PMEDC Executive Director Chuck Leonard. “Through a variety of sources, mostly state and federal, and in cooperation with local public authorities, such as the Brodhead Creek Regional Authority, and private sector utilities, PMEDC has assisted in delivering more than $130 million to address infrastructure projects throughout the county.”
Leonard said marketing the community as a business location is another primary responsibility of PMEDC and the organization does that in a variety of ways.
“We have always believed strongly in approaching this from a regional perspective and have been members of Penn's Northeast since its inception,” Leonard said. “This membership allows us to stretch our small marketing budget, getting more return on our investment and more leads.
Bisbing, said “We have always found great value being members of Penn's Northeast. There have been times when we would have missed out on a particular lead if we had not received it from them. We also have the opportunity to participate in special events and trade shows that we would never be able to afford on our own. Working together with our regional economic development partners is a win-win for all of us.”
PMEDC (the trade name for Pocono Mountains Industries, Inc.) operates as Certified Economic Development Organization (CEDO) in Monroe County. PMEDC's sister organizations, Monroe County Industrial Development Authority and Pocono Mountains Industrial Park Authority, work cooperatively to achieve the goals of the organization and act as the conduit for many grant and loan programs offered regionally, by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development and the federal government.
PMEDC has been in the business of economic development since the mid-1950s. Over the years, the organizations have shared many of the same directors. In the 1970s, the organizations consolidated under one board of directors created primarily to take advantage of the various funding programs including Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority loans and the Industrial Revenue Bond Program. The organizations also have an extensive history in the development and sale of industrial property. The first park, now known as the Crowe Road Industrial Park was begun in the late 1950s and was completely sold out before the early 1970s. The park is still home to seven industries that employ more than 1,000 people.
In the early 1970s, PMEDC purchased 360 acres to develop a new park (the Pocono Mountains Business Park) adjacent to the largest general aviation airport in the area. In order to develop this property, a water and sewer system was constructed with the help of the United States Economic Development Administration (E.D.A.) and to this day is operated and maintained by the Pocono Mountains Industrial Park Authority.
Phase I of the park houses seven companies that include NFI Logistics, Continental Auto Parts, JPA Masonry, Mount Pocono Coca-Cola, Monadnock Non-Wovens, Moritz Embroidery Works, Ailya Chemical Corp. These companies together employ approximately 250 people.
In 1990, land was purchased for a second phase of this park. United Envelope Corporation currently employs almost 300 people at this location. Geisinger Medical Group built a facility here and employs about 50 people. Most recently Summit Aerospace and Solstice Sleep Products located in the park and employ almost 100 people. There are approximately 104 acres of property remaining and for sale in Phase II of the park. The park is now known as the Pocono Mountains Corporate Center South.
In 1999, PMEDC acquired the property in Coolbaugh Township known as Senda (the former Worldwide Church of God convention site) located between Routes 196 and 611. After an extensive master planning process, it was decided that the 247 acres will be developed as the Pocono Mountains Corporate Center East. The park has some Keystone Opportunity Zones and is also a Keystone Innovation Zone.
New Millennium
In 2003, Mountain Healthcare Center opened as the first comprehensive medical services facility to be constructed in the Pocono Mountains Corporate Center East. The 54,000-square-foot building is home to professional offices in internal medicine, ophthalmology, urology, cardiology, colon and rectal surgery, nephrology, outpatient rehabilitation, a dialysis center, family practice, obstetrics/gynecology and complete diagnostic services.
This project was developed by Spread Eagle Development and they followed that project by constructing The Courtyard on Lot 3 in 2006. This 18,300-square-foot professional office building currently houses a dentist, a podiatrist, a real estate office and several other professional services. A few suites remain available for lease through Spread Eagle Development in East Stroudsburg.
In October 2013, Waste Not Technologies broke ground on a new 12,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and opened in 2014. They had out-grown their smaller facility in Saylorsburg and decided to expand in the PMCC East. They are a manufacturer of recycled plastic fencing products.
Shortly after acquiring the Senda property, the property directly across the street formerly known as the Camp Tegawitha property was also acquired by PMEDC with the help of the county. This 600 acre, industrial-zoned property was developed as the Pocono Mountains Corporate Center West. In March 2007, Johnson & Johnson Sales and Logistics Company LLC became the first company to locate in the park. This facility is the largest building in the county topping out at 1.4 million square feet. The facility is operated by FedEx Logistics and they employ approximately 400 people.
Most recently, ground was broken on Lot 2, known as Clarius Park Arcadia North, a Class-A ±1,050,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility. Completion is scheduled for summer 2019. Additional industrial-zoned land is still available including a 114-acre, Keystone Opportunity Zone site that has rail line access. Additional information about available sites can be found at www.pmedc.com
“We have built business parks to have sites to attract new businesses and to provide room for local businesses to expand,” Leonard said. “Our parks have attracted companies like J&J Sales and Logistics and a Wal-Mart Distribution Center. By staying in the game and focusing upon developing infrastructure we now are benefiting from the trend toward speculative building which was once only enjoyed by larger cities and neighboring counties.“
PMEDC also lends support to economic development projects outside our business parks; whether it is infrastructure development, financing options, access to incentives or site location assistance, comprehensive services are offered to developers interested in locating or expanding in the community.
Tourism/hospitality projects
Over the past few years PMECD has seen explosive growth in the tourism/hospitality industry and has supported that growth in a variety of ways:
• Kalahari Resorts and Conventions opened in July 2015 after completing Phase I of their development that included 450 guest rooms, 103,000-square-foot indoor water park, 30,000-square-foot indoor theme park, 64,000-square-foot convention center, full-service spa and multiple restaurants.
PMEDC supported this project with the extension of a natural gas line to the project site, the approval of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to support water, sewer and road construction and some additional grant funds to support road improvements required for the project.
Phase II (an additional 400 rooms, additional restaurants and doubling the size of the indoor waterpark) of the project was completed in March 2017 and in June of this year ground was broken for an additional 150,000 square feet of convention center space.
They employ approximately 1,000 people and will add about 200 more with the completion of the convention center expansion in late 2019.
• Camelback Resort and Aquatopia Indoor Water Park completed an expansion in 2015, including 453 guest rooms, several restaurants and a 134,000-square-foot indoor water park, adding about 950 full and part time jobs.
PMEDC worked closely with the developers and owners to put together TIF financing, a grant for infrastructure development and their participation in a large highway project that led to the approval of their highway occupancy permit.
• Healthcare in Monroe County has also been growing rapidly and PMEDC has supported both Lehigh Valley Hospital - Pocono and St. Luke's Hospital, Bartonsville Campus, in their expansion projects.
The Bartonsville Healthcare Center and the East Stroudsburg Healthcare Center, operated by Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono were both funded in part by Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program Grants (RACP) through PMEDC's sister organization Monroe County Industrial Development Authority (MCIDA).
For the new St. Luke's Hospital in Bartonsville, PMEDC served as the issuer of bonds to construct the project. These projects have added approximately 600 new jobs and an overall investment of over $110 million.
Manufacturing growth
Manufacturing, both large and small, continues to grow in Monroe County and PMEDC works with each company to assist in their expansion plans. A few examples are:
• Sanofi Pasteur, manufacturer of vaccines located in Swiftwater, is the county's largest private employer with about 2,400 employees and a growing campus. PMEDC has supported several of their past expansion projects and continue to assist them in improving infrastructure both on and off site.
• Vigon International is a fragrance and flavoring manufacturer in East Stroudsburg with approximately 75 employees. They have been named to the PA List of Best Places to Work seven times and have been named several times by Inc. magazine as a fast growing company. PMEDC has provided PA Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) financing, several grants to support infrastructure development and support for new equipment.
• Terrafina a food manufacturer of healthy snack options, relocated its operations from New York City into East Stroudsburg and will create 120 jobs. They purchased a vacant 72,000-square-foot facility due to lower operating costs. PMEDC is processing a PIDA loan application and has a commitment for grant funds to make upgrades to the building.
Another large project that is being developed by DEPG Associates & Legend Properties is the Smithfield Gateway project in Smithfield Township. PMEDC has been working closely with the developer to mitigate the extensive off-site infrastructure improvements that must be completed for the project, Most of these are road and storm water improvements with a price tag of about $14 million.
PMEDC is always seeking out financial support for economic development projects in Monroe County, primarily for infrastructure improvements including roads, water, sewer, natural gas and telecommunications. There are many state funding programs that we are the eligible applicant for and have extensive experience in administering those programs if approved. The Local Share Account for Monroe County, funded by gaming revenue, is an annual source of funding that we submit applications for to fund our own projects and also others in the community.
https://www.timesleader.com/industrial-park-series/721788/pocono-mountains-economic-development-corp-leading-the-way
By Bill O'Boyle - boboyle@timesleader.com - and Michelle Bisbing - Pocono Mountains Economioc Development Corp.
