Big development planned for Somerset business park
An Ohio-based commercial real estate investment company plans to develop a one-million-square-foot building in the Laurel Highlands Business Park in Somerset, creating jobs and spurring economic development, county commissioners announced Tuesday. Merus LLC, of Cincinnati, purchased 95 acres of undeveloped land in the business park for $6 million, commissioners chair Brian K. Fochtman said. The…
An Ohio-based commercial real estate investment company plans to develop a one-million-square-foot building in the Laurel Highlands Business Park in Somerset, creating jobs and spurring economic development, county commissioners announced Tuesday.
Merus LLC, of Cincinnati, purchased 95 acres of undeveloped land in the business park for $6 million, commissioners chair Brian K. Fochtman said. The largely undeveloped park is located on Route 31 east, near U.S. Route 219, about 3.6 miles from the Turnpike’s Somerset interchange.
Tenants have not yet been identified for the building, which would be well suited for a logistics and distribution hub because of its size and location. The Amazon fulfillment center in New Stanton, Westmoreland County, for example, is 1.05 million square feet, which is two exits down the Turnpike.
Cincinnati-based Merus has a 130-year history as a real estate developer and has been active in the Pittsburgh market since 2003. The Clinton Commerce Center in Findlay Township is the company’s biggest development in the Pittsburgh area, where it partnered with the Allegheny County Airport Authority to develop seven buildings with a total of 1.43-million square feet.
In 2025, Merus had a total of $1.6 billion in assets under management, according to its annual report.
In addition to Allegheny County, Merus has residential and commercial developments in Beaver, Butler, Westmoreland and Washington counties in Western Pennsylvania as well as offices in Tennessee and South Carolina. Merus has a staff of about 180 employees who own the company through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.