In the center of Coatesville, the poorest community in a
county flush with wealth, is an overgrown tract where development dreams
blossom, then wither.
People have proposed condos, a lumberyard, a power plant and
a park. Most recently, plans for a velodrome - a cycling center billed as a
breeding ground for Olympics stars - fizzled without funding.
Now, the city is again seeking pitches for the property they
call the Flats, and Chester County officials are watching closely. That's
because Coatesville - showing signs of life after years of decline - is a rare
urban center with room left to grow in one of the state's fastest growing
counties.
"We're not talking about a piece of farmland in rural
western Chester County," said Ryan Costello, chair of the county
commissioners. "It's the signature revitalization project that could
potentially happen in this county."
The city's redevelopment authority bought the Flats - 22
acres below the arresting brick arches of an Amtrak line - when the G.O.
Carlson steel plant closed in 2004.
Bordered on one side by a metal fence blanketed in weeds and
on the other by a new riverwalk that curves along the Brandywine, the property
is emblematic of the decline and burgeoning recovery of Coatesville.
Across Lincoln Highway is the 800-employee ArcelorMittal, a
steel mill that as the headquarters of Lukens Steel once employed 6,000.
The location, at the gateway to the business district and
about two miles from the Route 30 Bypass, made the Flats an easy addition to
the redevelopment effort already underway when the authority bought it.
That effort is about a decade behind pace, City Council
President Joseph Hamrick said.
Progress has been slowed by economic struggles and also,
some say, by fallout from a 2003 plan to build a city-owned golf course on land
taken through eminent domain. Authority vice president Jack Burkholder said the
failed project ended in a prolonged legal battle and left an environment
unfriendly to development.
Building momentum
Coatesville is home to about 13,000 people.
The city's per capita income is about $17,000 - second
lowest in a county where the average household makes well over twice as much.
Some hoped the velodrome, when proposed by Olympic cyclist
and West Chester resident David Chauner in 2010, would bring jobs and an
economic lift. Chauner, who still hopes to see the project move forward, said
it would cater to the thriving cycling community in the Philadelphia area.
After four years of waiting, though, the council voted in
March to seek new proposals.
"Their stated goal was to get an Olympic champion out
of Coatesville," Burkholder said. "It sounded good. But I think we
probably did hold on too long."
The delay could have a payoff.
Hamrick and others say recent successes in Coatesville -
such as a $20 million state investment in the city's Amtrak station, a 125-room
Courtyard Marriott that opened in 2012, and a 40,000-square foot office
building slated for construction off the bypass - might make developers take a
fresh look at the Flats.
"Before it was always a stand-alone aspect, just
develop the Flats," Burkholder said. "Now . . . we have some momentum
going."
Proposals are expected this summer.
Some see potential uses for the Flats ranging from mixed
retail and apartments to a small entertainment center for concerts and sporting
events. The county's conference and visitors bureau has highlighted the need
for such a venue, which would bring overnight visitors to the county, said
Costello.
Nearly 475,000 people live within a 30-minute drive of the
site, and within an hour, that number jumps to 3.2 million, according to the
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
Brett Fusco, a senior transportation planner at the DVRPC,
said the commission was pushing urban growth over suburban sprawl, making developing
the Flats ideal. "It's a large parcel of land, and it's right near an
existing downtown area," he said. "So it really is a great
opportunity to do something big."
Holding out hope
Chauner still thinks a velodrome could be that big-ticket
item.
And he's preparing to make a new push to developers
interested in the Flats. A selling point: He thinks up to $10 million can be
shaved off the initial $25 million price tag.
The lower projection, Chauner said, is based on the cost of
an indoor velodrome under construction near Pittsburgh, a project in which he
is also involved. That track will be the second indoor velodrome in the country
and the first in the East (a title Coatesville was hoping to claim). The rest
of the approximately 30 velodromes in the United States are outdoors.
Some, including an outdoor velodrome near Allentown, are
owned by municipalities and run by nonprofits. Other velodromes, such as the
one near Pittsburgh, are financed by bicycling enthusiasts with deep pockets.
Bob Gottlieb, owner of an aluminum recycling plant, is providing $15 million,
including the property, for that project.
"It takes an angel and a true believer," Chauner
said.
He hasn't found that angel for Coatesville, a dilemma that's
indicative of a public relations challenge facing the sport, according to David
Mitchell, president of the state's cycling association.
"You can't turn on ESPN and see a cycling track
race," he said.
Investors who don't see an existing interest in the sport,
Mitchell said, often are wary of signing on.
Marty Nothstein, executive director of the track near
Allentown, said community awareness can come over time. The track he runs -
which was built in 1976 and later gifted to Trexlertown - started as a concrete
oval. Concession stands, bleachers, and other facilities were added as interest
grew.
"People that have dreams of building velodromes, they
want the state of the art, best thing that's possible," he said. "And
that might not necessarily be the best way to start."
The Trexlertown velodrome, which offers free or low-cost
classes, has turned out nine Olympic athletes, including Nothstein, who won
gold in Sydney in 2000. On Friday nights in the summer, hundreds of people pack
the track to watch the races.
Chauner hopes to help build a similar culture around cycling
in Coatesville, an idea members of the authority and council said they could
still get behind if it is financed properly.
In the meantime, Costello said, the Flats is too prime a
property to hold.
"It's not worth crossing our fingers," he said,
"and hoping that it might one day happen."
Source: Philly.com
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