Forest Grove property deal hangs in balance

By Jamie Wiggan

Staff Writer

-Montour-

After nearly two years of wrangling over settlement details, the Montour School District and developer CRAFT Pittsburgh USA, Inc. remain unable to close on the Forest Grove property sale.

According to minutes from Montour’s Jan. 21 board meeting, directors approved the most recent extension to the due diligence period in order to give Robinson’s Zoning Appeals Board time to decide on a variance request submitted by the developer.

In an interview March 25, Ira Weiss, a solicitor representing the school district, said the two parties are still working to reach an agreement but declined to disclose further details.

“Both parties are having active discussion about timelines and other details,” Weiss said. “We’re expecting the issues that are there can be resolved.”

The proposal submitted by CRAFT involves plans to build 42 duplex apartments on the 25-acre site to be marketed as Villages at Forest Grove.

Larry Regan, the firm’s development director, declined to comment on the status of the sale.