Strategy 1000 is a simple project -- in theory.

The brainchild of Penn-Northwest Development Corp., the plan calls for the agency to buy and develop 1,000 acres in Mercer County for industrial and other uses over the next decade to attract business and create jobs.

But when you consider the physical elements of the project, the endless political haggling, turf battles and having to essentially grovel for funding, the enormity of work it will take to get the plan off the ground becomes apparent.

With an estimated price tag of $25 million, it would be the single costliest public works project under local control in the county's history. That price, most of which would come from public funds, just includes what it would cost to buy and transform land suitable for development. Incoming businesses settling in the project would spend their own money erecting buildings and adding equipment, which would easily push the total price past $200 million.

Details such as picking one or more locations, securing funding and drawing up plans for roads, sewerage and other amenities are expected to be in hand by the first quarter of next year, said Larry Reichard, executive director of Penn-Northwest.

As head of the nonprofit organization which has been designated as the county's lead marketing agency, Reichard acknowledges the project is complicated.

"This is not for the faint of heart,'' he said.

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