Hempfield Township to begin construction on new, 43-acre municipal complex

HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- Through multiple surveys conducted over the last several years, the roughly 41,000 residents of Hempfield Township in Westmoreland County have been asking for more park space.

In just over a year, they will get that and more via a new, 43-acre municipal complex.

Hempfield Township Manager Aaron Siko says that part of the new space will be a 14-acre park, the first new park in Hempfield since 1967. He says this new park will offer many amenities.

"A splash pad, a nature-inspired playground, a yoga deck, a fitness area," said Siko. "As we move across the site, a new road, and a new infrastructure throughout; water, sewer, electric, gas, stormwater facilities, and those will be built in this first phase."

There's more.

This new complex on Weatherwood Lane, near Route 30 and Mount Pleasant Road, will not only have a new park, but it will be a completely new municipal campus that will eventually have a new municipal building, a new public works building, and a new department of public safety building that will house the township's fire department headquarters.

Siko says that the total cost of this massive project is just over $16 million, but he says taxes for the township will not go up to fund this endeavor.

"How this is being funded is through a bond that the board of supervisors went and authorized in 2022," said Siko. "Those funds, on top of the matching funds that we have from grants, will be supporting this project. There aren't any new taxes for this, and no new tax increases."

The township is hoping that this new park will become a regional destination and asset, and they hope to have the first phase of construction done by September 2025.