COATESVILLE – Officials of the Chester County Economic Development Council announced the selection of a developer for the $20 million train station project in the city.
Pennoni Associates, partnered with West Chester based developer EDiS, architect Bernardon Haber Holloway and others, have been chosen to take the central role in developing a new station for the city.
“It is anticipated and intended that this work will generate additional private sector interest in other properties in both the train station area and downtown Coatesville,” said David Sciocchetti, Urban Development Consultant for the Economic Development Council.
Classified as Transit Oriented Development, TOD, the Coatesville train station project will use public sector investment in the train station to leverage private investment in the area of the station and in downtown Coatesville, officials of the Economic Development Council said.
“We are truly excited to be selected as the developer for the new Coatesville station,” said Joe Viscuso, vice president at Pennoni. “While we are focused on designing and building a first class train station, we are also committed to making the station a catalyst for new private investment in the city.”
At a minimum, Sciocchetti said, the project will consist of three plans in addition to the development of a new Coatesville train station.
The development plan includes the revitalization and reuse of the existing train station building, new development on the southeast corner of Third Avenue and Lincoln Highway and streetscape improvements on Third Avenue that “will significantly improve the connection of the station with downtown Coatesville.”
The Pennoni-led team will begin work by identifying and market testing specific targeted uses for the project properties and creating conceptual designs for both the public and private improvements, officials said.
The project will then move through engineering and construction with the goal of a new train station by 2016.
PennDOT has committed more than $20 million to the project as part of its ongoing efforts to upgrade stations along the Keystone Corridor rail transit line from Harrisburg to Philadelphia, officials said.
Toby Fauver, PennDOT deputy secretary, noted the importance of the state’s commitment to this project and the Keystone Corridor.
“The investment in the Keystone Corridor will pay significant dividends for years to come in both improving east-west transportation in Pennsylvania and in leveraging economic development in communities like Coatesville,” said Fauver.
Chester County has added $700,000 to the project through its Community Revitalization Program and has used other grant funds to provide coordination and management services for the project, officials said.
Speaking on behalf of the Board of Commissioners, Chairman Ryan Costello said, “It is exciting to see this effort move forward. Partnering the County’s Community Revitalization Program funds with Keystone Corridor investment from PennDOT, to enhance the county’s main transit corridor and help spur development in the county’s only city, is exactly how our CRP-sponsored activities are supposed to work.”
Dave Collins, president of Coatesville City Council, was happy to hear the announcement.
“It was certainly encouraging for me to see so many highly experienced design and development teams come together with a focus on the City of Coatesville,” Collins said. “We certainly believe that this project can be a major catalyst for additional interest and new economic development in the city.”
That opinion was echoed by Joseph “Zeke” DiSciullo, chairman of the Coatesville Redevelopment Authority.
“We have been working hard with a lot of strong partners including PennDOT, Amtrak and Chester County, and have been assisted by the Chester County Economic Development Council with high quality technical support, to enable us to reach this point,” DiSciullo said. “Having the Pennoni team on board as the developer will mean that this project takes on an entirely new momentum.”
Source: Dailylocal.com
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