HDC Acquires First Avenue Lot, Plans $17M Project

HDC of Lancaster has acquired the 3 acre vacant lot directly across the street from the Parkesburg Fire Company and simultaneously announced plans to build 72 apartments for senior citizens. Pictured above, the development will add over 3000 sq ft of retail space, provide a pedestrian path from Main Street to Minch Park and generally beautify the 300 block of Main Street. In a press release published last month, HDC highlighted the following points

• $17,000,000 project combining private funds with tax credit equity.

• Beautiful, new-construction, four-story building on former brownfield site – part of the original Parkesburg Iron Foundry that is now an empty lot.

• 3,100 sq ft of neighborhood commercial space along West First Avenue opposite the borough hall, the fire station, and the police department - perfect for a coffee shop and small retail/service store.

• New sidewalks, lighting and landscaping along borough’s major street

• Pedestrian path connecting the commercial area of West First Avenue with the walking trails, playing fields and activities in Minch Park.

• 140 parking spaces to serve 90 residents and commercial users that will also be available to provide additional parking for evening events in the park and neighboring churches.

• Improved neighborhood traffic circulation afforded by paving two underused alleys that will be used as secondary access points to parking areas.

Affordable Senior Housing

• Seventy-two spacious apartments (51 one-bedroom and 21 two-bedroom) for persons 55 years of age and older with incomes at 40, 50 & 60% of area median.

• Eight units designed for occupancy by persons with physical disabilities and offered at rents affordable to those at 20% of the area median income.

• Units have ample storage, individually-controlled heating and air-conditioning systems, and energy efficient appliances. Laundry facilities are provided on each floor.

• The private, residential entrance has a spacious two-story lobby featuring a gas fireplace and seating area adjacent to the management suite, mail center and elevator lobby.

• Second floor community spaces include a 1,300 square foot meeting room with TV area, balcony, and kitchen facilities; an exercise room with private health screening office; and a computer room/library.

• Market study confirms that there is a great need for more affordable apartment living options for seniors in this primary market area. Over 5,700 households of persons age 55 and older within a 12-mile radius of Parkesburg have annual incomes between $15,000 and $35,000.

• Average market rate rents for apartments comparable to our proposal are $1,000 to $1,500 per month, an amount that is out of reach for many seniors at the aforementioned income levels. Our monthly rents will range from $424 to $829.

Green Building

• Building design complies with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s Green Building Standards.

• Outdoor landscaping will be drought resistant and irrigation-free.

• Interior finishes will be selected to be resilient, attractive and promote a healthful indoor environment – no mold propagating materials in damp areas; only low VOC primers, paints, and sealants; only urea formaldehyde free composite woods.

• Green Building Guide and orientation will be provided to tenants to explaining the features, benefits and how to care for green building materials.

The Future of the Acme Plaza

This past Thursday (7/19) I had lunch with the owners of the Acme Plaza on 1st Avenue. Knowing I was going to be in North Jersey for a business meeting I called ahead to see if we could have lunch and discuss their plans for the plaza while I was in the area. I expected one or two people to attend. Imagine my surprise when 7 people showed up!

By way of background, the group of three siblings owns and operates 20 to 30 retail centers in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The Acme plaza in Parkesburg is one of their smallest centers. The group's Parkesburg's holdings include not only the Acme property consisting of the the 10 acre parcel on the southwest courner of Route 10 and 1st Avenue from the gas station back to the post office, but includes the 1 acre parcel on the northeast corner of Route 10 and 1st Avenue (see map).


The group's entire portfolio of properties is managed by Levin Property Management in Plainfield, NJ.

I was pleased to hear of their significant efforts to find tenants for each of the now empty retail spaces in the plaza. They have explored many options and talked with several retailers over the past several years but none of the conversations has resulted in a new tenant.

During our conversation over lunch we explored several options including redeveloping the center, attracting a store to fill the old Acme store and finally explored the possibilities of starting a farmers market. We all agreed a farmers market had the most promise.

Over the coming weeks and months we'll be exploring the farmers market option with the owners and determine if such a market can be started and sustained.

Let me know what you think about a farm market in Parkesburg. Would you shop at the market if it was there? Clink on the comment field below and share your thoughts.

Chester County's Public Safety Training Facility Project

Buried deep within the the pages of this week's Parkesburg Post Ledger (PPL) is word of Parkesburg's Borough Council unanimous support for Chester County's proposed Public Safety Training Facility.

The Public Safety Training Facility (PSTF) is planned for 70 acres of land near the intersection of Newlinville and Doe Run roads just south of Coatesville in East Fallowfield. The $20M project paid for with County, State and Federal grants, provides Chester County's 5000 first responders facilities where they can learn and practice together the latest techniques for protecting our communities.

Without the facility our police and fire first responders will be forced to travel to similar facilities in Delaware, Montgomery or Lancaster Counties or use abandoned buildings around town to conduct training excercises as the police did this past February when they held an all day training exercise at the shopping center at the west end of Main Street. Its no wonder that Brian Sheller, Parkesburg's Chief of Police said the center is "30 years overdue."

The project, while being well received at the county and state levels, recently experienced some "Not In My Back Yard" (NIMBY) opposition by neighbors of the project in East Fallowfield. In light of the NIMBY opposition and recognizing how important having the training center in Parkesburg backyard, Ken Knickerbocker proposed a resolution expressing support for the center at Borough Council's July 16th meeting. The resolution read as follows:

RESOLUTION NO 2007-27

(Non-Legislative)

PARKESBURG BOROUGH

CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF PARKESBURG, CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, TO SUPPORT THE COUNTY OF CHESTER’S EFFORTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN EMERGENCY RESPONDERS TRAINING FACILITY IN EAST FALLOWFIELD TOWNSHIP

WHEREAS, the County of Chester, is proposing to construct an Public Safety Training Facility;

WHEREAS, a 70 acre tract owned by Chester County and located in East Fallowfield Township, Pennsylvania, is being considered for the proposed Public Safety Training Facility;

WHEREAS, the Public Safety Training Facility is a necessity for the County and the location of East Fallowfield Township is easily accessible to all volunteers in the County; and;

WHEREAS, Parkesburg’s police force provides coverage and protection to Parkesburg as well as four additional municipalities including Highland Township, as well as the Borough’s of Honey Brook, Atglen, and Avondale.

WHEREAS, Parkesburg Fire Company provides primary and secondary service to Parkesburg and surrounding municipalities including Highland and West Sadsbury Township

WHEREAS, the Parkesburg Borough Council supports the County of Chester and the Public Safety Training Facility Task Force in its endeavor to construct the Public Safety Training Facility in East Fallowfield Township.

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Parkesburg Borough Council that the construction of an Public Safety Training Facility is an immediate and high priority project for the County and that the Parkesburg Borough Council fully supports such project.

ADOPTED this 16th day of July, 2007.

BOROUGH OF PARKESBURG

After a brief discussion the Resolution was approved by Council.

This is a significant development that deserves front page coverage. This action not only expresses Council's support for Parkesburg's fire, police and EMS groups, but supports keeping the training center nearby and easy for our police and fire people to get to. Council's action in support of the training center underscores Parkesburg emerging role as a leader in the events shaping western Chester County future.

Why Parkesburg Today?

Former President Bill Clinton once said "Never pick a fight with someone the buys ink by the barrel.” Well I’m ignoring the advice and picking a fight with the publisher of the Parkesburg Post Ledger!

A friendly fight, but none the less a fight.

Why am I doing this? I’m tired of the shoddy coverage the Parkesburg Post Ledger (PPL) gives Parkesburg, its people and our government. Every week they either don’t get it or get it wrong. Their many short comings include:

• Misquotes – Ok, who hasn’t been misquoted by the PPL? You haven't lived in Parkesburg until you've been misquoted or misrepresented on the pages of the PPL.
  

• Missed Events – The listed of missed events is endless. For example in May when Presbyterian Homes and HDC, announced they had acquired the 3 acre lot across 1^st Avenue from the Fire Company and planed to build an 80 unit senior condo, in effect making a $10 million dollar investment in our town's revitalization, the PPL gave ZERO (as in nothing, nada, zippo) coverage to the event. I could go on and on and on. The PPL just isn't there when it really matters to Parkesburg.
  

• Bad Headlines – Again the list is endless. For instance last week Alan Wolfe was identified as Parkesburg’s Mayor on the front page of the PPL. Now I like Alan Wolfe and appreciate the contribution he has made to our town, but he hasn’t been Parkesburg’s Mayor for 6 years. Is it too much to ask that our town’s paper identify him correctly as the “Former" Mayor?

• Misplaced Priorities – The editorial leadership is out of touch with our town’s priorities. Over lunch last year with with PPL’s editor Fran Maye, it was clear to all that Fran was totally and completely unaware of the many initiatives under way to breath new life into our residential and commercial neighborhoods.

• Geographical Indifference – The PPL is published out of Quarryville, 20 miles to the west of Parkesburg and not even in the same County as Parkesburg. How can the the PPL possibly know the pulse of the town from so great a distance. The PPL used to have an office here in Parkesburg but closed it many years ago in a cost saving move. Parkesburg hasn’t gotten a fair shake since.

If there’s one thing everyone agrees on here in Parkesburg is we deserve better when it comes to a newspaper. Parkesburg Today is my attempt to do better. Once a week I’ll update Parkesburg Today to include:

• Council Happenings – As Bev Ely is fond of saying, you can’t make a difference unless you show up at council meeting. Bev is right, 90% of making a difference is showing up. But we know you can’t make every meeting so I’ll use these pages to keep you up to date.

• Community Happenings – A calendar of community events you may be interested in attending and or participating in. If you have an event that you would like included on our calendar, send me an email at kknickerbocker@gmail.com with the details. I’ll see that it gets posted within a day or two.

• Polls – Tell me what important to you by voting in our weekly polls dealing with local, regional and national issues.

• Whatever … - "Whatever..." leaves room for future additions. Let me know if you have something you would like to see on this page. I will make sure every idea is carefully considered and voted on by our committee of 1(me!) and if the committee likes it we’ll find a way to get it posted.

That’s it for now. Make sure you vote in this week’s poll on Parkesburg's priorities and check back next week when I again shun Former President Clinton's advice and take on Fran Maye, the local guy who buys ink by the tanker load!

Now its your turn. Share your thoughts with me. Click on "Comments" below and fire (type) away.