The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development announced Thursday it had approved more than $4.8 million in new low-interest Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) loans to support businesses and create jobs.
Officials said the projects the loans support are expected to create at least 19 new, full-tie jobs and retain more than 180 positions in Centre, Lancaster, and Westmoreland counties.
“PIDA loans are one of the Commonwealth’s key economic development investment tools to help generate business growth and create new jobs,” DCED Secretary Rick Siger said. “These loans awarded in Centre, Lancaster, and Westmoreland counties will help businesses there expand and create new opportunities for residents—growth that is essential to achieving the Shapiro Administration’s goal of transforming Pennsylvania into an economic powerhouse.”
The approved projects include a 15-year $2.25 million loan at a 3.75 interest rate, along with a 7-year $700,928 Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund loan at a 4.75 percent fixed interest rate for Advanced Powder Products, Inc., through the Moshannon Valley Economic Development Partnership, Inc., in Centre County to expand Advanced Powders’s facility in Rush Township and purchase advanced technology machinery.
Additional loans included a 15-year $975,000 loan for Seven Trees Woodworking, LLC through the EDC Finance Corporation in Lancaster County to purchase an industrial building on nearly 4 acres of land in Earl Township; and a 10-year, $877,400 loan through the Economic Growth Connection of Westmoreland to construct an 11,625-square-foot multi-tenant building in Penn Township.
So far this year, PIDA has approved nearly $28 million in low interest loans that have resulted in more than $47 million in private investment and created and retained a total of 584 full-time jobs.