By Kylie Hawn / Daily News Staff Writer
It’s been a long, ongoing process, but those traveling along Route 22 in Smithfield Township will once again see activity at the former Chet Grove Cars Unlimited building.
The building was acquired by Klocker Bros. Design & Build LLC in the summer of 2013, and construction for the facility has been slow-going, but some of the obstacles have been cleared.
Jobe Glenny, operations manager for Klocker Bros. Design & Build LLC, said the permitting issues with Smithfield Township and PennDOT have been resolved.
“All of our permit issues have been taken care of,” said Glenny. “The reason why you’re not seeing much work right now is because it’s my busy season, but we’re working to have it under roof before September.”
In October 2014, township supervisors gave Glenny conditional approval to refurbish the building between in exchange for a security bond of $ 50,000 to ensure the parking lot would be paved within two years.
Glenny said he is rebuilding the current structure, especially making sure the walls are sound. “I want to get it weatherized for the winter, so I will have time to finish the interior,” he said. “We are working to have it under roof before September.” If everything goes as planned, Glenny said he hopes he will be able to open to the public by spring.
After many issues over a two-year span, Glenny said he’s happy things are moving along, all while trying to focus on his current customer base. “We have to take care of our customers first,” he said.
One of those issues was regarding the entrance and exit from the property, and he’s constructed a plan where customers will make a right-hand entrance off of Route 22 to enter, and they will only be able to exit the facility from the right. “There will also be new curbing along the road,” said Glenny.
Another issue that has held up construction is the septic system, but township officials have also worked that out with Glenny. “It was a holding tank and was never hooked up to the city sewer,” township code enforcement officer Stanley Gresko told The Daily News in June 2014. “The previous owner intended to put a car wash in, but with the amount of water that would go into the system, it had to be hooked into the city sewer by putting a directional boring under Route 22. It would have been relatively costly to do that.”
When Klocker Bros. Design and Build LLC purchased the building, Gresko said Glenny inquired about how to keep the holding tank. “It would be for limited use since there would only be a few office spaces, so they thought the existing tank could work,” said Gresko. “Our sewer officer established how many gallons per day it would hold, and (the tank) needs to be pumped on a regular basis.” The tank will have a warning device that indicates it needs to be pumped, and Gresko said schedules will need to be set up to pump it out on a regular basis.
Klocker Bros. Design & Build LLC has been in business locally since July 2011, specializing in decks, home construction, room additions, bathrooms and kitchens, geothermal systems, basement finishing, remodeling, hardwood or ceramic flooring, electrical and plumbing.
Glenny has been operating Klocker Bros. Design & Build LLC on Cold Springs Road since the German company hired him as operations manager.
Source: Daily newspaper “The Huntingdon Daily News”, July 29th, 2015