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In recent years, Fayette County has had success wooing new companies in technology, defense and homeland security industries. Economic development officials say the county needs more workers with the right skills to keep growing.

But Fayette needs quality housing -- condominiums, townhouses or starter homes in good neighborhoods -- to attract workers, their families and top managers.

"Fayette County is at the point where it needs to be looking at the type and quality of growth. We have to get rid of the beggar mentality," said Michael W. Krajovic, president of the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, the agency charged with adding employment opportunities in the mostly rural Southwest Pennsylvania county.

Enter Elliott Edelstein, a Monroeville housing developer who believes parts of Fayette County could become the next Cranberry -- the Butler County community that is one of the fastest-growing in the state and home to 3,000 businesses.

Edelstein's Crystal Springs Investors is trying to develop 229 acres in Springhill Township and build 280 single-family homes, which would make it the largest housing development in Fayette County in years. His group has an option on 625 acres nearby.

The kicker: the land in question is in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, where generous tax breaks are available. Originally intended to spur economic development -- not housing -- when it was created in 1998, the state program would give a homeowner forgiveness from property taxes and state and local income taxes through 2013.

Edelstein has been negotiating with Fay-Penn, which owns the land. He estimates it will take about $11 million to develop the site in the southwestern portion of the county and close to the fast-growing Morgantown, W.Va., area. Planning and zoning approvals are in place, leaving financing as a final hurdle, officials said.

"This should increase our percentage of mid- and upper-level managers who can live in Fayette County. ... We would like to see the project happen," Krajovic said.

Money saved by people who would live in the tax-free zone likely will be spent on their homes or in the community, he said. Since no one will move into it until at least 2009 -- only 3 or 4 years of savings will be possible. "We certainly wouldn't encourage a program that would give infinite benefits."

"This will be a gated community, and they will be quality homes. We'll have our own sewage treatment, tennis courts and a park area. Later on, we'll put in a strip center to offer retail outlets," Edelstein said. Land will range from $70,000 to $75,000 for a half-acre, while houses will likely range from $250,000 to $275,000.

"The housing we plan is needed. Sophisticated companies don't want to move into an area where their employees don't want to live," Edelstein said.

Krajovic said companies that are coming into Fayette County -- which as the lowest median household income among the 11 counties in Southwest Pennsylvania -- have problems recruiting highly skilled workers and that housing, or lack thereof, is a hindrance to growth.

"It depends on the technology. We have no trouble filling entry-level positions. But once we get into specialized fields, or engineering, it's been more difficult," said Karen Stiles, a spokeswoman at Argon ST in the Fayette County Business Park in Georges Township.

Argon ST, of Fairfax, Va., employs about 94 workers at its Georges site and at an engineering and technical center in North Union Township. It is a contract manufacturer for the Defense Department, particularly the Navy's surface ship torpedo defense program.

Parametric Technology Corp., a large, Massachusetts-based software company, has been luckier in finding workers since setting up shop in Fayette in February 2006.

"The folks we're hiring are right out of college. We're bringing people on board and augmenting their skills," said David Rossi, general manager of Parametric's solutions center, in the National City Bank building in Uniontown.

Rossi said the talent comes from area colleges: California University of Pennsylvania, Penn State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh. He hopes to raise the employment level to 125 workers in 36 months.

County leaders say more and better housing will help.

There are 66,490 housing units in Fayette -- population 145,760 -- but more than one third were built in 1939 or earlier, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. In the past, the county has seen a combination of single-family and mobile homes built, county figures show. Even last year, of housing permits issued in 32 of the county's 42 municipalities, there were 122 mobile homes added and 103 traditionally built single-family houses. In addition, there were 25 modular homes and 9 manufactured homes.

Yet, there are signs that the housing market is changing. Through March, permits were issued for 32 single-family houses and 9 mobile homes, plus one modular house.

"Workers employed at defense-related companies and at industrial parks are seeking higher quality single-family and patio-style homes," said Eric Fulmer, chairman of Mullin & Lonergan Associates, a Pittsburgh consulting firm that did a housing study in 2005 for the Redevelopment Authority of Fayette County. The housing that is becoming available is being absorbed quickly, he said.

The study showed the need for additional market-rate housing, in addition to lower-cost and subsidized housing for low-income families, said Andrew French, executive director for the Fayette County Housing Consortium.

One development providing a mix of single-family, market-rate housing and low-income opportunities is Mountain View Estates in Fairchance near Uniontown, said Ken Klein, president of Threshold Housing Development Corp.

The 44-unit development includes three-bedroom, single-family homes, including two-story, split-level and ranch models, said Klein, the developer.

"We've sold 36 houses over the last three years, including to a number of young professionals, but most of them are local people," he said.

"There is a need to build more homes in the county," said Keith Myers Jr., sales associate with Howard Hanna Myers Real Estate in Fairchance. His company recently sold a 1,500-square-foot split entry home in Mountain View Estates for $160,000 to a move-up local buyer.

Fayette County does have pockets of upscale housing, particularly South Union Township and Wharton Township off Route 40 in the Summit Mountain area, says Jeff Burd, of Tall Timber Marketing Group, a Ross construction-market tracking and research firm.

"It's a chicken and egg thing. What builder will look at Fayette County without demonstrable demand for housing?" Burd asked.

That could change if Route 43, the Mon Valley Expressway, delivers promised growth, he said. Perryopolis and Perry Township, located near Route 51, could benefit if residents in the South Hills area grow weary of Allegheny County's tax structure.

Another draw for more housing in Fayette is West Virginia University, said Bill Dietrich, head of construction for Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Pittsburgh.

"The university is located in Morgantown, W.Va., and because the city has no zoning code, most of the buildable land is gone," he said.

Fayette County is about a 10-minute drive from Morgantown and has the potential to become a successful housing area for people associated with the university, he said.

He believes detached single-family housing, priced from $250,000 to $280,000, and townhouses, priced from $160,000 to $180,000 could be successfully built and sold in the county.

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