Keystone Today

More than $9 million in funds have been approved for six projects spanning five counties across Pennsylvania through various low-interest loans.

This is made possible through the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority, according to a press release by Gov. Tom Wolf’s office. It is expected that 287 jobs will be created and retained.

“My administration and I remain committed to supporting growing businesses across the commonwealth, and the PIDA loans approved today will allow these companies to grow and expand,” said Wolf. “Providing resources for companies to succeed in Pennsylvania is vital to our economy, our communities, and our livelihoods.”

In Northampton County, the Continental Cup Company LLC. was approved for a 10-year, $210,000 loan with a 3.75% set interest for purchasing equipment such as forklifts, dome lid molds and a lid automated door. The project will cost $491,562 and 44 new jobs will be created, with 27 jobs retained, over three years.

Green Leaf Productions has been approved for a loan of $10-years, $945,000 at a 3% reset interest rate. This is to build a 10,450 square-foot office in Bethlehem, Hanover Township. The new space allows for a full-service multimedia production facility. The project will cost $2.1 million and 25 new jobs will be created over three years.

Grundy Commons LLC, located in Bristol Borough of Bucks County, was approved for a $15-year, $2.25 million loan to buy a 318,921 square-foot mixed use, multi-tenant building.

The RIDC Southwestern Pennsylvania Growth Fund was approved for a 15-year $2.25 million at a 4% fixed rate loan through the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania. This is to build a 30,000 square-foot industrial flex building on 5.1 across of land at the RIDC Armstrong Innovation Park in Freeport, South Buffalo of Armstrong County. The $5,075,000 project will lead create six jobs.

In Wyoming County, Deer Park Lumber was approved for a 10-year, $3 million loan with a 2.5% fixed interest rate to purchase machinery and equipment such as a bin sorer and optimizing grading system. This project, located in Tunkhannock Township, costs $7,854,000 and will create eight new jobs over three years, as well as retain 74 jobs. The hope is for productivity to increase 10 to 15%. In 2021 Deer Park Lumber also received a $3.1 million offer of funds for modernizing their facility.

In Lackawanna County, the Northeastern PA Alliance helped get Trichilo Foods approved for a 15-year, $569,000 loan at a 3% fixed interest rate to renovate and expand the 22,415 square-foot cold storage warehouse in Carbondale. There will be a 5,200 square-foot docking space built and also building improvements. This is a $1,136,000 project and 24 new jobs will be created, with 25 retained over three years.

Since 2015, PIDA has approved $403,284,275 in low-interest loans and supported 15,763 full time jobs. This has led to $818,899,754 in private investments. This year PIDA has approved $41,505,998 in low-interest loans leading to 998 create and retained jobs and $90,918,585 in private investment.