During a visit to Sewickley on Nov. 17, I saw the recently-opened new Howard Hanna office on the corner of Thorn and Broad Street and got to experience what can only be calleda building boom in the village of Sewickley. Hanna’s office (picture below) was the fourth new commercial building started in the tiny commercial district in the village. Nearly 60,000 square feet of new office and theater have been started and nearly completed. Around the corner from the commercial activity, demolition was going on to clear the way for the Sewickley Condominiums, a 24-unit luxury development of two buildings on Locust Street by Zamagias Properties. And at the eastern end of the village, Charter Homes built 22 new homes in the last two years.

Another bit of space in the village will soon become a parking garage, infrastructure that is desperately needed. WTW Architects is designing the 250-car garage, which should cost between $5-6 million.

In other project news, the contractor for Hanna’s office, Dick Building Co., was selected to build the new 4,800 sq. ft. First National Bank branch on McKnight Road. MBM Contracting started construction last month on the $1 million Butler Hospital 6th Floor Administration project. Continental Building Co. was hired by Shorenstein Properties to act as construction manager/owner’s rep for the modernization of the One Oxford Centre building, a project that should run $50 million or more.