Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Transportation center, parking garage set to transform Oxford
Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Feb. 8 for the long-anticipated multimodal transportation center, garage and borough building to serve downtown Oxford. County Commissioners Michelle Kichline and Terrence Farrell, state Rep. John Lawrence, and a representative from State Sen. Andy Dinniman’s office, joined Borough Mayor Lorainne Bell and several borough council members for the event.
Also on hand were supporters from the Oxford business community, OMI Director Brian Wenzka and others who have been involved in the planning process for this project.
“Once complete, the new facility will resolve a parking shortage that has limited our ability to fully utilize the beautiful historic buildings that line Third and Market Streets,” Borough Council President Sue Lombardi said.
Located off Second St., between Locust St. and Octorara Alley, the structure will provide about 300 parking spaces as well as a transportation hub for SCOOT bus service.
The $7 million cost of the structure will be covered in part by a $1,072,000 grant from the county, and a $540,000 grant from DCED. An additional $1.2 million for the project will come from funds given several years ago by an anonymous donor that were designated to go toward a new borough hall,
The ultimate cost to the borough is not certain. “That depends,” Borough Manager Brian Hoover said. “We still have two grant applications out there. If we get another couple of grants it could be as low as $1.2 million, or it could be as high as $2.2 million. It depends on the grants.”
The 3,000 sq. ft. borough hall portion of the structure will be on the Octorara Alley side of the building will include offices a meeting room and a caucus room.
The project has been in the planning stages for five years, but the need for more parking goes back long before that.
“When my family moved here in 1972, there existed a parking problem - it was in the papers,” Bell said. “This is a major step for Oxford. Today we begin to help to strengthen and grow our town in a positive way.”
The existing parking lot where the garage will be built was previously a free parking area owned by National Penn/BB&T Bank. The lot was sold to the borough for $1, and further negotiations were undertaken to acquire additional space from the neighboring property owners. Verizon gave up a portion of the parking area at their building in exchange for parking spaces at the new garage.
The finished garage is designed to blend in with the existing architecture of the area. It will encircle the Second St. offices of Oxford Family Eyecare, which will remain open for business during the construction project.
The present parking lot will be closed, starting Mon. Feb. 11 for cleanup and preparation prior to the start of construction before the end of the month, The parking garage is scheduled for completion before Thanksgiving of this year with the Borough Hall ready for occupancy by February 2020.
While the parking garage is under construction, alternate parking areas are suggested in a flyer distributed by the borough and posted on the borough website at www.oxfordboro.org.
The weekly farm market held on Locust St., spring through fall may be impacted by the construction, but will continue. “We have to wait to see how the construction impacts the periphery. If it’s not there, it will be somewhere else in the downtown,” Wenzka said.
Getting to this point has generated dissension among borough council members with some questioning the costs and the need for the structure.
“It was a long journey for council, a very divided council. Hopefully as we move forward into the project, everybody will come together to make it work for the community,” Lombardi said.