Beacon Redevelopment Industrial Corporation (BCND)

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Old news...

Former Westmoreland Glass site may change hands

By Richard Gazarik
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, May 15, 2009

The company that planned to develop the former Westmoreland Glass plant site in Hempfield says it has received an offer to sell controlling interest in the company.

The announcement occurred three days after Hempfield supervisors held a public hearing to decide whether to declare the Grapeville property a public hazard, which would force owner Adam Marek of Beacon Pennsylvania Holdings to clean up the site.

The news caught township Solicitor Les Mlakar by surprise because he had continued a hearing for 30 days to give Marek a chance to testify. Marek had requested the hearing but then failed to appear.

"I think we'll have one more hearing," Mlakar said. "It will be a very short one."

Marek announced the buyout offer in a news release Thursday. Marek, who did not disclose the identity of the potential buyer, did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

"The offer is subject to the buyer's terms and requirements including full review of its properties and contracts," Marek said in the news release. "It is also understood that all executives will resign and be replaced with the buyer's team upon closing of the transaction."

A sale of Beacon could put the township back to square one if it has to deal with another owner.

If the supervisors rule the site unsafe, Mlakar said he will seek an injunction forcing Beacon to clean up the former glass plant, which closed in the 1980s after a century of manufacturing. The township code carries criminal penalties and fines for each day the site is not remediated, Mlakar said.

The township has concerns about Marek.

No one in the township has met Marek. Even attorney Jay Kober, who represented Marek at the hearing, said he has never met his client. Rick Blackburn, a contractor hired to clean up the site, said he only has talked to Marek by telephone.

Beacon has issued a series of news releases since last year announcing various plan for the site. Initially, Marek said he wanted to salvage and sell between nine and 10 million bricks and 40,000 tons of scrap steel.

He announced that he had hired Renaissance Renovations and Development LLC, which is registered in Nevada, as the contractor. He claimed Renaissance offered $6.3 million for the work.

Blackburn told the supervisors Monday he hadn't started the application process with state and federal governments for the permits he needs to begin the work. The site is known to contain asbestos and the soil may contain heavy metals such as arsenic that would have to be removed.

Blackburn said the project's success hinges on the supervisors' giving him more time to obtain the permits.

"What assurances does the board have you're not going to leave here and let this set for six more months?" asked attorney Lee Domasky, who represented the township at the hearing.

"The people I represent are looking to create a business," Blackburn said. "We have a commitment into this for approximately $6.3 million. If that can't happen, we can't commit money to the project."

The township is concerned about public safety.

The plant overlooks Chambers Avenue Extension. Two tall brick stacks still stand, and the township is concerned that vibrations from passing Norfolk and Southern trains could cause them to topple onto nearby homes or children playing.

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