CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield County Economic Development Corporation is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying and gathering information on vacant commercial and industrial properties throughout Clearfield County. In light of the recent Marcellus Shale announcements, the “rush” has begun and the CCEDC staff has been receiving inquiries on a daily basis for vacant buildings consisting of warehouse and storage space, manufacturing space and office accommodations. In order to create a competitive edge for Clearfield County, the CCEDC will be listing all available buildings, on a special Marcellus Resources link, on their Web site. The CCEDC is not a brokerage firm and therefore does not collect a commission for listing properties. This service is free of charge in hopes of spurring increased economic development for Clearfield County. All inquiries will be referred to the property owner or listing broker of record.
“We need to take a proactive stance and be prepared for companies visiting Central Pennsylvania,” explained Executive Director, Rob Swales. Having a list of available sites on hand is crucial to meet the short timeline these companies request. Some of the information the CCEDC staff will collect includes, property location, square footage of the facility, size of lot or acreage and lease rates or sale price.
The Marcellus Shale, a formation that runs from the southern tier of New York, through the western portion of Pennsylvania into the eastern half of Ohio and through Maryland and West Virginia, is estimated to hold 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. If even 10 percent of this was recovered that would be enough to supply the entire United States demand for two years, not to mention it comes with a wellhead value of about $1 trillion. This would greatly reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign energy supplies. According to the Workforce Education and Development Initiative at Penn State University, production of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale will increase gross state product in Pennsylvania by more than $500 million a year. In addition, development of the Marcellus Shale will create nearly 8,000 jobs for every $1 billion in royalty income paid to area land owners. For more information or to see an animated video of the Marcellus extraction process please visit their Web site.
If you have property that you are interested in posting with the CCEDC please contact the CCEDC office at 814-768-7838 x 201 or email info@clearlyahead.com to receive a real estate data checklist. The staff at the CCEDC looks forward to hearing from you soon!