Hempfield paves way for Menards home improvement store

Hempfield supervisors cleared the way for a new home improvement store in the township.

Menards, a Wisconsin-based chain, is slated to occupy the site where the Ramada by Wyndham Greensburg Hotel and Conference Center stands near Westmoreland Mall.

While specific details for the project were not available, Patrick Karnash, director of planning and zoning, said the building will be 250,000 square feet, almost double the size of the Lowe’s and Home Depot in Hempfield.

Of that, about 50,000 square feet will be an outdoor lumber yard, Karnash said. The hotel and former Westmoreland Athletic Club will be torn down to accommodate the new building.

The project received final approvals this week, township Manager Jason Winters said. Supervisor Tom Logan was absent from the meeting. The project first went in front of the planning commission in June.

For the facility to be built, three tax parcels had to be combined. Prior to the supervisor’s vote, planning commission members unanimously approved the resolution. A second motion granted approval for the site plan.

The project was approved on the condition the developer’s plans for traffic improvement plan, stormwater management and erosion control are approved.

During a public work session last week, Karnash added that a traffic study suggested that improvements would need to be made at the intersection of Donohoe Road and Sheraton Drive, both of which are state roads. Ramada Inn Drive, leading to the properties, is a private road.

Menards has more than 300 location in 14 Midwestern states, with the closest in Ohio. While there are no stores in Pennsylvania, one is under construction in South Union Township, Fayette County.

The company employs more than 45,000 people, according to it’s website.

It was not known when construction will begin on the Hempfield location.