Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Redevelopment projects moving forward
Street improvements, City Hall renovations are among changes coming to city
COATESVILLE » More than 50 community members, including city officials and developers, met at the Brandywine Center Thursday morning to learn details about numerous redevelopment projects taking shape in the city this year.
“This is our way of ensuring that the Coatesville community knows what to expect relating to upcoming development and infrastructure changes,” said Sonia Huntzinger, Coatesville’s Economic Development Administrator. “We want to share all the great things that are happening in the city.”
Jill Whitcomb of the Brandywine Health Foundation discussed upcoming improvements to Palmer Park and explained how the foundation has partnered with Natural Lands and neighborhood residents to design, plan, and prepare for the enhancements.
She noted that parks and recreation are critical to a good quality of life, and green, inviting parks and playgrounds help foster healthy living. There are nine parks in Coatesville and one walking trail; every resident in the city lives within a 10-minute walk of a park, she said.
Rachel Griffith, trails and open space planner at the Chester County Planning Commission, outlined plans for extending the Chester Valley Trail west through Coatesville and on to the Lancaster County border line.
She said trails can be great economic drivers, bringing in new visitors, businesses and
jobs, and that Coatesville has or is working on several amenities that could be desirable to trail users, such as the train station and bike lanes on Lincoln Highway.
Regina Lewis of ChesPenn Health highlighted the Coatesville Growing Greater Neighborhood Revitalization initiative underwritten by the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation.
Through the initiative, more than 300 city residents were interviewed for how they view their communities and what could be improved in the future, Lewis said.
Coatesville City Manager Mike Trio presented details on two projects in the city that are already underway or soon will be. City Hall is currently being renovated and upgraded to improve the energy-efficiency of the building and add space for a district court, which will be leased to the county. A new floor is being added to the building, and the Coatesville Police Station will remain at this building as well. Trio said the building should be ready to be re-opened sometime in June.
An intersection realignment project at First Avenue and Lincoln Highway should be ready to bid out for construction next week, he added.
Coatesville Redevelopment Authority Vice Chairman Jack Burkholder gave a status update on the Coatesville Train Station development project. He said the train station can be perceived as the life blood of Coatesville, and trains allow residents access to find jobs in other places such as the Main Line or Center City Philadelphia, or learn new skills to bring back and put to good use in the city. Coatesville still has a functioning train station, and people seem to be using it more often lately, Burkholder said.
The Third Avenue Streetscape road improvement project, which is the first phase of the plan for the new train station, is 95-percent done, he added.
Jack Corcoran of DEPG Developers discussed the Gateway Retail and Office project slated for construction this summer. He said a sports bar is in the works at this location in the heart of the city, and Coatesville will benefit from having good restaurants to give visitors a place to go.
The community meeting was held at the Brandywine Health Center and sponsored by The Matt Gorham Group, a real estate company.