A
stalled redevelopment project in the heart of downtown Hershey may soon be back
on under a new owner with a new vision for a mixed-use complex that should be a
central hub and spark a wave of reinvestment in Chocolatetown.
Wormleysburg-based
RVG
Management & Development Co., a company known for developing
grocery-anchored shopping centers, office buildings and residential communities
across the Mid-Atlantic, bought the former Hershey post office property at 169
W. Chocolate Ave. last year after the previous owner failed to restructure
financing to continue the nearly five-acre project.
RVG
stepped in during the restructuring effort to negotiate a buyout of the
property because it saw a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to create
a central gathering place in Hershey, said Steve Dayton, RVG's senior vice
president of real estate.
"We
want to bring new life and activity to the downtown," he said.
The
property changed hands in October for $3.8 million, according to Dauphin County
deed records.
Construction
on the post office building, part of what was dubbed the Hershey Downtown
Center, stopped in early 2016. The
plan was to renovate the existing two-story limestone building and then build
two additional structures that could house a mix of shops, restaurants, offices
and personal-service businesses.
But
the post office portion was never finished and the other buildings never
started.
RVG
has renamed the project the Hershey Towne Square. The new plan, designed by
Lancaster-based Tono Architects, still includes renovating the
post office building, but for use as a multi-tenant office building. A new
multi-level public parking garage would be built next to that building.
At
the front of the property, two multi-tenant buildings would be constructed
along Chocolate Avenue. One would be a three-story, 82,689-square-foot
mixed-use retail and residential building with 32 one- and two-bedroom
apartments. The second would be a 12,900-square-foot single-story retail
building.
RVG
believes its plan brings a modern aesthetic to the downtown that will blend
with Hershey's industrial past.
"This
is a significant investment in this parcel. We believe in the real estate and
the community," Dayton said.
The
new owners also believe this project will "raise everybody's game"
and drive new investments along Chocolate Avenue.
"I
think you will see reinvestment up and down the corridor," Dayton said.
Ed
Fetter, also a senior vice president of real estate for RVG, said everything
would be built at the same time and not in phases, as was originally planned
for the site.
He
hopes the project will garner necessary approvals from Derry Township over the
coming months, so construction can get underway this summer. If that happens,
he expects buildings would be delivered by the beginning of 2018 and tenant
fit-out work would follow.
RVG
hasn't begun leasing spaces, but Fetter said the goal is to attract national
and regional retailers and restaurants. The developer is looking to bring some
new brand names to the midstate, he said. The goal is five restaurants for the
site, most with outdoor seating.
The
estimated $28 million project could then open by the spring or summer of 2018.
The
township's design advisory board, which reviews proposals and make
recommendations of appropriateness for various construction and property improvement
activities within downtown Hershey, will review the design at its next meeting
on Feb. 27.
From
there, the plan would need to go through the township's planning commission and
board of supervisors.
RVG
also will be seeking tax-increment financing, a public-private partnership tool
that involves all local taxing bodies, to help pay for the cost of the parking
garage. The project will add about 500 parking spaces in the downtown, most of
those in the parking garage. They will be free for the public to use.
A
parking garage is needed in order to maximize density on the site, officials
said.
Access
points on the site would be signalized intersections at Ridge and Linden roads.
Bennett
Williams Commercial is handling the leasing of the site.
Source: Central
Penn Business Journal
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