Washington Co. must build readiness before it grows population

JLL Pittsburgh Executive Director Dan Adamski was a guest speaker at the Washington County Real Estate Expo on March 12. He spoke on the panel “Growth & Opportunity: Washington County in 2026.”

By DAN ADAMSKI
Executive Managing Director, JLL

Washington County is well positioned for growth, provided the county sequences its work strategically. Growth at that scale is not driven by individual projects, but by site readiness, reliable utilities and a coordinated housing‑to‑workforce pipeline that together remove risk for corporate decision‑makers and developers.

Start with pad‑ready sites and utility certainty. Corporations and large developers move when they can see a clear, short timeline from decision to operation. That means certified, shovel‑ready industrial and mixed‑use pads with entitlements, graded pads, storm‑water plans and guaranteed utility hookups. It also means clear commitments from electric and water providers about capacity and interconnection timelines. Without those two elements, even the most attractive location will be bypassed for a market that can deliver faster.

Washington County already has real advantages to leverage. Southpointe is a proven anchor — a func‑tioning business ecosystem that demonstrates the county can host at scale corporate headquarters, energy firms and technology companies. The county’s proximity to Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh International Airport, and its access to I‑70, I‑79 and the PA‑576 corridor, give it a logistics and talent‑access edge that many Western Pennsylvania counties lack. But location alone is not enough; the county must convert that locational advantage into tangible, marketable product.

Over the next five to 10 years, expect the biggest job creators to be data centers and cloud infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, logistics/fulfillment, energy services and healthcare/life sciences. Each of these sec‑tors has distinct site requirements: data centers demand high‑capacity power, fiber and water considerations; manufacturing and logistics need large, flat pads with direct highway access; healthcare needs proximity to population centers and workforce pipelines. South‑pointe’s cluster effect — the way suppliers, professional services and talent gravitate toward an established cam‑pus — will be a powerful magnet for these industries if the county can offer the right sites.

When companies run a site‑selection process, they evaluate a short list of nonnegotiables: power and fiber capacity, site readiness and permitting speed, work‑force availability, transportation access and predictable regulations. Washington County can attract firms by highlighting strengths and mitigating weaknesses:

• Strengths to promote: Proven corporate cluster at Southpointe, interstate connectivity, proximity to Pittsburgh and the airport; available industrial parks such as Starpointe, Alta Vista and Fort Cherry that can be scaled into pad‑ready sites.

• Weaknesses to fix: Any ambiguity around MW‑level power availability, limited market‑rate and workforce housing in targeted corridors; inconsistent permitting timelines across municipalities.

Ready‑to‑build industrial sites like Starpointe, Alta Vista and Fort Cherry are not a luxury — they are a competitive necessity. In modern site selection, the difference between winning and losing a major employer is often measured in months. A certified pad with utilities committed and a fast-permit‑ting lane converts a speculative lead into a signed letter of intent. Transportation access matters more than ever. Proximity to I‑70 and I‑79 reduces logistics costs and widens the labor draw. The I‑576 connector that improves access from I‑79 to the airport and I‑376 is a strategic asset for attracting headquarters, logistics operations and firms that value executive travel and freight efficiency. Emphasize these corridors in marketing materials and ensure last‑mile access from interstates to pads is fully engineered and funded.

Preparing for large‑scale investments such as data centers requires a focused, technical approach: commission a county‑wide power and fiber capacity study, pre‑negotiate interconnection timelines with utilities, map water and wastewater constraints and create a fast‑track permitting and incentive package tailored to hyperscale users. If the county cannot demonstrate credible utility capacity quickly, it will be deprioritized by the very projects it seeks.

Practical next steps for public officials and econom‑ic development partners: • Commission a utility and fiber audit to quantify available power, substation upgrade needs and dark‑fiber routes.

• Certify 3–5 shovel‑ready pads with costed utility hookups and environmental clearances.

• Align housing strategies with employer targets — incentivize mixed‑income developments near employment corridors.

• Create a cross‑jurisdictional fast lane for permit‑ting that bundles county, municipal and utility approvals.

• Market a concise product to site consultants and corporate real estate teams: a one‑page site packet that proves timeline, capacity and incentives.

Sustainable growth is not a single project but a program: build the product the market demands, prove you can deliver utilities and approvals on a predictable schedule and coordinate housing and workforce development to absorb the jobs you attract. Do that, and the county will not just chase growth — it will earn it.