To be sure, creating 1,000 acres for development in Mercer County will require hard planning with tough choices.

But Strategy 1000 also is going to take money. Lots of it.

And as it stands, most of the funds will be plucked out of the public till.

Penn-Northwest Development Corp.'s blueprint calls for $15 million to be spent on the first phase of the project. The agency's financial plan calls for:

   » $5 million from Mercer County. Everyone agrees the county would have to float a bond to secure the funds.

   » $5 million from the state in the form of grants, loans or a combination of the two.

   » $3 million from Penn-Northwest's revolving loan fund. That fund, which gives loans to businesses, now contains $4 million.

   » $2 million from the federal government or other state sources.

A key for the project is that Penn-Northwest is placing its own money on the line, said Larry Reichard, executive director of the agency.