Politics & Government

Allegheny County to Solicit Bids for Military Commissary

New facility in Moon will serve military personnel and their families in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland.

The Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority will begin soliciting bids to develop the site of a planned new 43,000-square-foot military commissary in Moon Township, Chief Executive Dan Onorato announced today.

The trading post and grocery store for the region's military personnel will be built on  county-owned property at the intersection of University Boulevard and the Interstate 376 Business Loop, adjacent to the McGarity Reserve Center in Moon.

It will replace an existing commissary and exchange in Oakdale and will be the only commissary of its kind between Carlisle, Cumberland County, and Dayton, OH. The U.S. Army Office of Personnel & Readiness will continue to operate the commissary and exchange in Oakdale until the new site opens.

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The commissary will be available to all active duty military personnel, fully retired veterans, and eligible dependents in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia. It will serve approximately 165,000 people within a 100-mile radius who otherwise would have faced a round trip of up to 400 miles to reach other military facilities.

Construction had been slated to begin in July but was delayed because Congress has not approved all funding for the project. A DCA spokesman last month told Moon Patch that he did not know when construction would begin.

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Onorato, however, said construction was expected to begin this fall, with completion expected in late 2012.

“After years of hard work and negotiation, construction of a new commissary in Allegheny County is a reality,” he said today.

The Redevelopment Authority will seek the bids along with the U.S. Defense Commissary Agency. The successful bidder will enter into a contract with the county authority to complete site development work and a contract with the DCA to construct the building.

Onorato said Pennsylvania's congressional delegation has arranged to set aside $17 million for construction of the new commissary. He thanked Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. and U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle, (D-Forest Hills), Jason Altmire, (R-McCandless) and Tim Murphy (R-Upper St. Clair) for their work in obtaining funding for the project.


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