If something isn't done soon, in about three years Mercer County will be out of developed industrial land to offer potential employers.

The county has about 150 available acres for industrial development and it is being used up at the rate of 40 to 50 acres a year, according to Penn-Northwest Development Corp.

Buying up to 1,000 acres along interstates 79 and 80 and getting it ready for use is the centerpiece of Penn-Northwest's strategy for future development and the creation of up to 5,000 jobs. The county's lead economic development agency unveiled its plan, called "Strategy 1000," on Monday.

The plan outlines marketing and developing strategies to attract new industry and business to the county.

If fully accepted -- and funded -- by all governments involved, the plan is designed to stop what James E. Winner Jr., international businessman and chairman of the plan's study committee, described as a downward trend in employment opportunities in the county.

"If we don't take quantum leaps as opposed to baby steps, we are in for a very dismal future," Winner said.

Penn-Northwest has earmarked $3 million of its own budget and is counting on $5 million from Mercer County and another $5 million from the state for the project. An additional $2 million is expected to come from other state and federal programs.

That should be enough to get the project started, said Larry Reichard, executive director of Penn-Northwest. It will cost about $25,000 an acre to get the land ready for industrial use -- building access roads and extending water and sewer lines.

With $15 million startup money, Reichard said, the agency will be able to develop about 600 or 700 acres.

The proposed project has heavy competition from across the border in Ohio, where companies are often offered free land to build on and 10-year tax abatements, Reichard said. Surrounding counties also have competing industrial developments, he said.

If successful, Strategy 1000 could generate $4.5 million in state income tax, $1.62 million in local wage taxes, and $7.03 million in local school, county and real estate taxes.

Reichard said he hopes to have funding in place by March.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Amanda Smith-Teutsch at: ateutsch@sharonherald.com

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