Council OKs revitalization items
Uniontown City Council approved a number of business items connected to downtown revitalization projects Wednesday. Council authorized Bob Junk to apply for a total of $625,000 from state and federal sources, and hired an engineering firm to study plans targeting Main Street.
Junk, of Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, which council hired to administer an $8.91 million revitalization plan, will apply for $385,000 from the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s (DCED) Housing and Redevelopment Assistance (RHA) program, a $200,000 grant from the federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department and another $40,000 from the DCED.
Gov. Ed Rendell promised the city the $385,000 for renovations to the Union Trust building and the State Theatre Center for the Arts during an April 17 visit. Rendell also said the city would receive a $3.15 million grant, which city leaders plan to use to build a parking garage at the site of its current parking lot at the corner of Penn Street and Gallatin Avenue, and to acquire and renovate commercial buildings.
The city is required to match all the money. It needs $245,000 to match the $385,000 from the RHA program to fund the $630,000 in planned renovations.
Plans call for the city to seek the $245,000 from HUD. The $200,000 HUD grant for which Junk will apply has a different purpose.
He said $50,000 will go toward the State Theater project, $35,000 would be used to develop a master site plan for the city’s parks and $15,000 would be used for a planned firefighter’s memorial statue.
Junk said the other $40,000 the city is seeking from the DCED would be used for a “Blueprint for Pennsylvania’s Downtowns” plan for the city.
Virginia-based planning firm HyettPalma is developing the plan, which is aimed at reviving the downtown business district.
Council members, other local officials and business owners form a “Blueprint” committee that met Wednesday night.
The firm the council retained for the Main Street study, which is part of the George C. Marshall II Plan proposed by County Commissioner Joe Hardy, was McMillen Engineering of Uniontown.
Hardy agreed to make a personal contribution of $1 million to fund matching grants to fix up building facades.
The plan involves creating parking on Main Street, reducing it to one traffic lane.
It also includes installing new signage, decorative streetlights and planting trees.
Council hired McMillen to study the feasibility of parking on Main Street between Church Street and the Five Corners West intersection, evaluate the proposed signage and sidewalk amenities.
McMillen is charging the city $79 per hour for the principal engineer, $68 per hour for a professional engineer, $58 per hour for design technicians and $47 per hour for engineering technicians.