It's been over a decade since New Castle has welcomed a new housing development in town. As two residential neighborhoods will soon make their way to the city, developers and state officials say this is the beginning of a new chapter for New Castle.

"This absolutely is the beginning of something great for our area," said Marla Brown, State Representative (R-PA).

New Castle will be gaining two residential developments called Kingdom Place and Royalty Place. A luxury campground will also make a home just south of Royalty Place. Plans are in the works by real estate company, Metrovitalization. According to officials, the developments will offer polished, new single-family homes and townhomes in Hickory Township and Union Township within New Castle.

Kingdom Place, located at 1700 Harlansburg Road, will be situated in private, lush settings with a wide variety of home designs, impressive standard features, larger-than-average lot sizes and proximity to the Laurel School District of Hickory Township, according to Metrovitalization's press release. The 30-acre property offers 25 new single-family homes on 1-acre parcels starting in the mid-$200,000 range.

"Kingdom Place is a highly desirable and much-needed asset to the community," said Ricky Trinidad, President of Metrovitalization. 

Royalty Place, located across from the New Castle Municipal Airport off of Old Youngstown Road is slated to begin initial site work by the end of 2023.

The 101-acre property will feature approximately 171 new houses consisting of deluxe, single-family homes, along with a variety of townhomes. The property is in a charming natural environment offering a range of intrinsic benefits, including beautiful foliage, nearby hiking trails, and local parks. The development is located within minutes of several popular shopping and restaurant venues, and major highways and roads, offering easy access to a range of activities and attractions, according to Metrovitalization. 

"When you bring in 175+ families, they need restaurants, they need shopping, they need coffee shops,' explained Gary Johnson, Property Manager with Metrovitalization. "And we don't want to be the ones developing everything. So we know by bringing this in, it's going to cause other developers to come in."

"Families in the Union Township area are always looking for modern, quality homes that meet their needs," said Michael Mansour, local resident and owner of Car Connection in Union Township, and an associate of the project. "The new Royalty Place development will undoubtedly enhance the area aesthetically, economically, and socially, and it will be a catalyst for many improvements in the community and region."

"Right now, we have 171 family homes," Johnson said. "Whether it's multifamily or single family, we're hoping to increase that probably by 20 to 30 more homes."

The second phase of Metrovitalization's Royalty Place project is the construction of the new, state-of-the-art campground, Royalty Camping. The campground received zoning approval by Union Township and Metrovitalization expects construction to begin in Spring of 2024. 

All properties will be energy-efficient buildings that use materials and processes that acheive high insulation ratings and low carbon footprints. Those behind the project say this could be the ripple effect for more builds in the area.

"With home development comes economic development," Brown added. "And this is my #1 goal for Lawrence County. It's so exciting to see this as a pivotal point to the change that's happening in our area."

For information regarding Kingdom Place, Royalty Place, and Royalty Camping, visit Metrovitalization's website.

Interested parties may also contact the developments' Direct Sales Representative, Renee Dean, Realtor® and Associate Broker at Howard Hanna Real Estate, at 724-730-6909 (cell) or 724-654-5555 x 236 (office).