The facility will be an anchor for Norfolk Southern’s Crescent Corridor rail route, according to an invitation to the event. Husband said invitations were sent to about 300 people.
Among those invited were Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who has proposed $45 million for upgrades to the company’s railroad system in the Commonwealth, and U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., who recently announced $3.4 million in federal funding for Exit 3.
The Franklin County Area Development Corp. has been working with property owners and Norfolk Southern to add a rail facility in the southern end of the county, FCADC President Mike Ross said.
“What we are starting to see is a series of independent acts that ultimately benefit one another,” Ross said. “From Shuster’s money to Atapco acquiring land from Perini (Properties Inc.), we expect that Norfolk Southern will now help bring development to both the east and west of Exit 3.”
Norfolk Southern is in the process of purchasing more than 200 acres for the site through Atapco Properties of Baltimore, according to Patrick Coggins, vice president of development for Atapco.
Atapco owns 200 acres adjacent to the site where Norfolk Southern will build the intermodal facility. Coggins said having the rail company as a neighbor will give Atapco additional marketing avenues for that land, known as the Antrim Commons Business Park.