Company’s plans for South Strabane property met with skepticism
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A local company seeking to build a co-working office space in South Strabane faces an uphill battle as township officials question their intentions.
Representatives of Champion Center Enterprises LLC appeared before the board of supervisors Tuesday for a public hearing on their proposal for 65 Fischer Road, despite the planning commission voting to recommend the supervisors deny the application earlier this month.
In November, Champion Christian Center withdrew an application to operate a tax-exempt church at the site of the former horse farm, which is currently zoned for commercial properties, before a scheduled hearing with the planning commission.
Champion Christian Center has churches in Washington and Canonsburg.
They returned in February with the current proposal to build a co-working office space. Andrew Sweat, their attorney at the time, told the planning commission that a holding company with no tax exemptions would own the property.
Township solicitor Dennis Makel pointed out Tuesday that Champion Center Enterprises was incorporated on Jan. 31, just a few days prior to the planning commission meeting. Makel sought an answer as to who owns each organization.
Thomas Lonich, a Washington attorney representing Champion Center, said they were separate entities but did not address the issue of ownership.
Johnny Miller also appeared Tuesday as a witness on behalf of Champion Center. Miller represented himself as the project’s developer, and authorized to speak on behalf of the company.
“I’m not sure I heard a clear answer to Mr. Makel’s question as to whether the ownership of this LLC and the church are one in the same. Are they?” asked board chair Bracken Burns.
Miller obfuscated his connection to the organization.
“I’ll be very clear, I do not know who owns either of these entities,” Miller said.
“You did all of this, but you don’t know who you developed it for?” Burns responded.
Vice chair Mark Murphy asked directly if Miller was related to Nathan Miller, who co-founded Champion Christian Center with his wife, Joie Miller.
“You don’t have to answer that,” Lonich interjected, which elicited laughter from the public.
The Observer-Reporter verified after the meeting that Nathan and Johnny Miller are brothers.
Champion Center Enterprises has a registered address of 603 Linnwood Drive, Canonsburg, which, according to Washington County property records, is the address of Nathan and Joie Miller, who purchased the property in 2016.
Supervisors and members of the public expressed concern that Champion Center could convert to a nonprofit in the future, and the property become tax-exempt.
Beyond their issues with how Champion Center has represented itself, the supervisors also had problems with the design itself, and what it suggests about future plans for the site.
Champion Center has not yet purchased the 30-acre plot of land, which was acquired by Bass Pro Shops in 2007 for $1.5 million, according to county property records.
The supervisors’ biggest issue was the proposed parking lot with 281 spaces. Burns questioned the need for so many spaces for an office building. Lonich responded that the township’s zoning ordinance does not specify a maximum number of allowed spaces.
“I didn’t say there was a maximum. I said, ‘It begs the question.’ If you have 13 offices and you have one or two people in each, that’s like 30 parking places. You have 281. What in the hell is going on? That question is jumping off the page,” Burns said.
Murphy asked if there were plans for further development of the property. Miller responded that he could not answer the question.
“Sir, my services have been retained specific to this phase and this submitted application, so I don’t have the capacity to speak on behalf of the entity for future development purposes,” Miller said.
He added that the facility would be about 30,000 square feet, and per township ordinances would need to have about 150 parking spaces.
“There is slightly more paved on this proposal,” Miller said.
The supervisors voted to close the public hearing but did not take action on Champion Center’s application. They are expected to take a vote on the matter at their next regular meeting, which has been rescheduled from April 25 to 7 p.m. April 18.