Tree Clearing at Franklin and Route 228 Sets Stage for Meijer Development

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP — Stacks of freshly cut logs, heavy equipment and a house with sections of its roof removed mark the changing landscape near Franklin Road and Route 228, where crews are preparing land for a development expected to bring a Meijer store, additional businesses and housing.

The work is the opening stage of Henderson Crossing, Township Manager Dan Santoro explained in an interview about the recent activity at the site.

But the clearing does not mean shoppers will be heading through the doors soon. Santoro said the anticipated opening is in 2029 or 2030, with substantial grading and infrastructure work required before the development takes shape.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to happen there,” he said.

The development is planned to include a Meijer grocery and department store, a gas station and convenience store, additional commercial parcels and a residential component toward the rear of the property near Seven Fields, Santoro said.

Uses for the additional commercial parcels have not been determined. They could include a restaurant or other businesses, he said. The housing would be developed separately from Meijer, within the same overall road and infrastructure plan.

Santoro identified Alphabet Development Corporation as the developer overseeing the site work.

Why the trees are coming down

Asked whether existing trees could have been incorporated into the development, Santoro said the property’s slopes require significant grading to accommodate the proposed commercial use.

“This property … has slopes associated with it,” he said. “So it requires a significant amount of grading in order to accommodate that commercial use that is proposed there.”

He also challenged the broader perception that development is consuming all of Cranberry Township’s green space, saying the township has preserved more than 2,000 acres of permanently protected land.

“So this idea that all the trees in the Township are being torn down or all the land is being developed does not recognize the preservation efforts that have taken place,” Santoro noted.  

He described Route 228 as a major commercial corridor, pointing to nearby employment centers, Cranberry Woods and the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex as reasons development continues to follow demand in the area.

Santoro said he had seen social media commentary about the clearing but had not received complaints about the work.

Renderings supplied by the township show landscaped areas, sidewalks, a linear park and a plaza near the proposed Meijer garden center. The drawings illustrate the planned development; they do not establish how many existing trees will remain.

New traffic signal and access roads

The development’s primary entrance would be at the existing Route 228 access to North Catholic High School, Santoro said. That intersection, which currently allows right turns in and out, would become a signalized intersection serving the development.

A second Route 228 entrance closer to the planned convenience store would allow right turns in and out.

Two additional entrances would connect to Franklin Road between Route 228 and Hillmont Drive, with another entrance on Hillmont Drive, he said.

Those entrances would connect to an internal road system serving the individual businesses and residential development. Most of the internal roads would be private, Santoro said.

More approvals ahead

The township has approved the overall site development, allowing grading and construction of the internal infrastructure, Santoro said. That approval establishes the sites for Meijer, the convenience store and other uses.

Meijer must still return to the township for land development approval showing its building, parking layout and internal traffic circulation. Other individual uses would also require further approvals.

“They create all of the internal infrastructure and grade for the street system,” Santoro said, before turning the prepared sites over for the next stage of development.

The project also has the required stormwater permit through the state Department of Environmental Protection and Butler County Conservation District, he said. The permit addresses sediment and erosion controls during construction as well as permanent stormwater management.

Santoro did not provide a confirmed employment estimate for the development, but said the project would bring jobs, economic activity and another shopping option for residents of Cranberry and surrounding communities.

“Retail follows rooftops,” he said. “They’re coming, folks, because you’re coming.”