The long-running Southgate redevelopment in downtown Chambersburg has a buyer. Chambersburg Town Council on Nov. 2 endorsed the sale of the rest of the old Southgate Shopping Center to Inch and Co. of York, which plans six market-rate apartment buildings on the site (via Borough of Chambersburg).
The property belongs to the Chambersburg Area Municipal Authority (CAMA), which bought the shopping center in two phases. The piece now being sold is about 69% of the original purchase. CAMA's board and the Southgate Neighborhood Advisory Committee both endorsed the development plan the week before council's vote.
According to the borough, the purchase price is $1.45 million, paid to CAMA in installments with interest over the next decade, and it could end up higher. The site is expected to be designated a federal Opportunity Zone, and the agreement has the developer split any resulting tax savings with CAMA. The council agenda lists the buyer as Southgate Development Group, LLC, also known as Inch & Company.
Construction is planned in three phases over about three years. The borough says the first phase could start as early as January or February 2027. Joe Eisenhauer, Inch and Co.'s vice president of development, walked council through the timeline.
The developer has agreed to tear down the old JCPenney building, most recently a Big Lots, at its own expense. The borough had won a $500,000 state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant this summer to demolish that building, and it says that money will be reprogrammed with the state's cooperation.
The developer will keep the existing retail at Southgate. The deal also bars a list of uses, including subsidized housing, adult businesses, smoke shops and data centers.
Not all of the original land is part of the sale. Keystone Health already built its new community healthcare building on a piece of the property, and the borough is keeping much of the rest for two new parks, a community plaza and a new street.
An economic impact study done for the borough estimates the project will bring in $421,720 a year: about $151,720 in earned income and occupation tax plus about $270,000 in utility sales.
The next step is a formal land development plan, which the developer will submit to the borough for council review.
Why it matters for Contractors
Six apartment buildings, a building demolition, new parks, a plaza and a new street add up to several years of work in downtown Chambersburg, starting as soon as early 2027. Inch and Co. is the name to know, and the land development plan is the document to watch. Once it's filed, it will show building sizes, phasing and site work, which is when subs and suppliers can start to size up the job.
The borough's own pieces, the parks, plaza and street, may be bid separately as public work. If you do site, concrete or landscaping work in Franklin County, keep an eye on borough and CAMA bid postings over the next year or two.