SHAMOKIN DAM — Snyder County’s power retail center Monroe Marketplace will increase the amount of jobs in the county’s retail sector by more than a third.

Though economic development consultant Emily White, of Front Street Advisors, Harrisburg, admitted before a meeting of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce on Thursday that retail jobs typically pay less than manufacturing jobs, she said the influx is a positive for the region nonetheless.

According to the 2002 census, nearly 3,000 retail jobs exist in Snyder County. Monroe Marketplace will bring another 240 full-time jobs and 1,100 part-time jobs, White said.

“It opens up the opportunity for folks to have additional jobs,” White said of the part-time positions.

In addition to the jobs brought by Monroe Marketplace, White estimated the shopping center will pump $16 million in new wages into the region and $26 million in sales tax to the state over the next four years, as well as increased property taxes to Snyder County, the Selinsgrove Area School District and Monroe Township.

As quality of life becomes more important when companies look to locate in a region, White said shopping opportunities like what Monroe Marketplace will offer could spark future development.

The 700,000-square-foot shopping center will contain a Target store, Giant Food Store, Red Robin, Kohl’s, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dress Barn and Lane Bryant.

The impetus is now on organizations like the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Susquehanna Industrial Development Corp., White said, to balance the county’s retail sector with jobs in the manufacturing and technology sectors.

“We are still committed to attracting high-paying manufacturing jobs, and that commitment won’t change,” said David Hall, president and chief executive officer of the chamber and executive director of SIDCO. “You don’t quit working in one sector when you have success in another.”

Those efforts continue at the Pawling Station Business Park, on 48 acres along Route 522 in Penn Township, Snyder County, which should be ready for construction at the end of the month.

The five-parcel park is expected to bring 250 to 500 jobs to the region.

Monroe Marketplace developer PREIT is in the process of making highway improvements to Routes 11-15 at the entrance to the shopping center.

White said the company is seeking an $8.7 million grant from Gov. Edward G. Rendell’s infrastructure and facilities improvement program to cover highway improvements, including a future access road east of Routes 11-15.

The entire Monroe Marketplace price tag stands at $65 million, White said.

Front Street Advisors does consulting work in economic development. The company was hired by PREIT to assist in applying for state funding.