Manufacturer to Buy Property From Armstrong

Lancaster, PA, Jan. 28--Another local businessman is hoping to put some of Armstrong World Industries' surplus land to good use, according to the Lancaster New Era. Craig M. Bear, owner of B&B Yamaha, has agreed to buy seven acres from Armstrong along Route 283 and build a new facility there. The project, next to an Armstrong warehouse and the county's emergency training center, would cost more than $1 million, Bear said on Friday. The project cost includes $485,000 for the land, an Armstrong court filing shows. The deal could lead to about eight new jobs at Bear's 15-employee business. "We've outgrown what we have. This is going to be a whole, whole lot nicer for everybody," Bear said. The B&B Yamaha deal is Armstrong's third agreement to sell vacant Lancaster County land since the company entered bankruptcy three years ago. Last fall, it won court approval to sell a tract to local developer Robert A. Wolf II. In 2001, it won court approval to sell a Marietta parcel to Conectiv; that deal fell through after Conectiv scuttled plans for a power plant there. But Armstrong also has used the bankruptcy process to void the sale of vacant land. In 2002, it got the court to approve a cancellation of the sale of land next to its Columbia Avenue headquarters for the Fairsted "livable community" project. B&B Yamaha's new facility would be 20,000 square feet, more than double the size of its present building. Assuming Armstrong's sale is approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and that B&B Yamaha's plans win the approval of East Hempfield Township, B&B Yamaha hopes to start construction this spring and move there late this year.