It has been five years since the home improvement retailer Menards bought a large parcel of land off Route 30 in Westmoreland County. 

The land is the former site of the Ramada hotel and Westmoreland Athletic Club in Hempfield Township. The corporation purchased the site for several million dollars in 2020 to build one of its massive home improvement stores.

The question that many people in the area have is, why hasn't Menards built there yet? The short answer is no one really knows. 

But Douglas Weimer, the chairman of the Hempfield Township Board of Supervisors, says Menards still owns the site, which is good.

"I am very happy that they continue to be interested in our neighborhood," Weimer said. "And they have not backed away from their desire to bring that store to our community, and the ball is in their court as to coming to us with that desire for a building permit. And you know, we are ready and excited to issue that to them once they bring forward their plans." 

Menards is a competitor with Lowe's and Home Depot, and is popular throughout the Midwest. Weimer says it would be a strong retail anchor in Hempfield Township.

The closest Menards to the Pittsburgh area are in West Virginia, near Wheeling and Morgantown. As of now, the company doesn't have any locations in Pennsylvania. If it built a 250,000 square foot store on the Hempfield site like originally proposed, it would be the furthest east the company has built to date.

"They know they have an investment property, but when they decide to break ground, that is up to them," Weimer said.

A representative from Menards returned an email asking for comment, saying, "I'm very sorry, but we do not discuss future store plans for competitive reasons."