WAREHOUSE — The 30,000-square-foot Junction Recycling warehouse on 1900 Commercial St. in Mingo Junction is planned for staging recycling plastics and glass before they undergo pyrolysis in Follansbee, though a tenant is being sought to share the space. -- Christopher Dacanay

MINGO JUNCTION — The developer of a Commercial Street property said plans haven’t changed, after a real estate listing caused a brief stir on social media.

On Oct. 22, Cedar One Realty posted a new commercial listing for an industrial property off of state Route 7: 1900 Commercial St. The listing states that a 30,000-square-foot warehouse and 2-acre laydown yard on the property are available for lease at $12,500 per month.

A social media post from Realtor and auctioneer James Lash states that the warehouse can be “built-to-suit, used as is or flexible” depending on tenant needs. The post adds that 7 acres in the property’s front “could be leased as well if the tenant is needing more space.”

Commenters on the post noted that 1900 Commercial Street, owned by Ewusiak Development, was slated for construction of a Dairy Queen and Circle K gas station and convenience store. That’s according to the owners, who dubbed the site Junction Plaza and laid out plans to make the roughly 10-acre site a commercial hub.

Officials with Ewusiak Development first announced the project — then estimated at $15 million — on May 19, 2023. Officials heralded Dairy Queen and Circle K’s anticipated tenancy in February, stating that some details still needed to be fleshed out. Around the end of June, Ewusiak finished constructing the semi-circular warehouse, intended for staging recycling materials.

With no physical signs of the chains having yet appeared on the property, some on social media took the listing to mean plans had collapsed.

Asked Friday about the listing, Ewusiak Developmnent’s managing member Joe Ewusiak said that plans have not fallen through, and the company is progressing toward the same goal as before. The listing, he said, only applies to the warehouse and approximately 2 acres of land behind it — not the front 7 acres planned to house the food outlet and gas station.

“Nothing’s going to change with that front spot,” Ewusiak said. “If anything changes, it would just be the back spot. There’s going to be a fence up, so it’s kind of going to be its own section of the property. Nothing changes, and we don’t have any intentions of doing anything with the front spot other than the retail that we want to do.”

The listing on Cedar One Realty’s website states, “Development happening on the front (7) acres of this property.”

A few contracts have been signed for the site, Ewusiak said, but some details still need fine-tuning.

“We’re trying to get some different pricing. That’s just kind of the thing right now, finding the best route pricing-wise. Everything’s high right now, so we’re just kind of waiting on that right now, seeing … what the best path is for that.”

Ewusiak added later: “The main is the pricing and finding the right engineering group and construction group that makes sense for everybody so we can get something in there.”

As for the warehouse — named Junction Recycling — Ewusiak Development still intends to use it for staging plastics and glass, which will be transported to the pyrolysis plant being constructed in Follansbee by partner company Empire Diversified Energy, upon its completion. With the listing, there just may be another tenant occupying part of the warehouse, Ewusiak said.

“Whoever we talk to, we’re going to make it known that that’s still our intentions over there. Regardless of what goes in there, we’re hoping that we can work something out, whether it’s half and half or … whatever the case may be. We’d like to still have some form or fashion for the staging area for the recycling.”

Ewusiak said that the development company is pursuing local partnerships for collecting recycling materials.

“We’re trying to get in with more local things around the Valley and try to, instead of going to landfills, … do something green with it.”

Progress at the pyrolysis plant is “moving along” with hopes to start commissioning “relatively soon,” Ewusiak said. The plant will produce hydrogen fuel, which Ewusiak Development hopes to offer at Junction Plaza, along with other alternative fuels.