Cycle arena study backed
BROWNSVILLE – Borough Council Tuesday gave unanimous approval for a real estate management firm to provide a cost analysis for a feasibility study for construction of a velodrome in Brownsville. The Olympic-quality bicycling arena has been proposed by an as yet unnamed developer reportedly at the behest of the USA Cycling Association and the U.S. Olympic Committee. The Olympic Committee Tuesday referred questions about the project to the director of the cycling association, who could not be reached for comment.
Lawver said Tuesday’s vote gives borough officials an opportunity to get answers to some of their questions about the proposed project, including ownership and financing options and the size and type of facilities that would be constructed.
“They basically just asked for support to start with,” Lawver said. “We’re following through with it to see if the pluses outweigh the minuses.”
Two borough residents, Stella Broadwater and Nena Kaminsky, during public comment at the start of the meeting encouraged council to approve the study.
I think everyone here is interested in bringing Brownsville back to its full potential. There is an opportunity to bring not one but two Olympic facilities here. We have to do something. If you would consider giving it a chance, maybe it could work,” Broadwater said.
“If it’s not going to cost us anything in the long run, we need to look into it. To say we aren’t going to do anything is ridiculous when our town looks like it does,” Kaminsky said.
The motion Tuesday authorized CB Richard Ellis to look into grant possibilities so a feasibility study can be done for the velodrome project, as long as both the current services of the real estate firm and the future study can be done at no cost to the borough.
“I think we need to make sure that what they are bringing back to us addresses the financial issues,” said Council member Tracy Sheehan Zivkovich.
The project has been presented to council and to the Greater Brownsville Area Chamber of Commerce as a public/private partnership, with public ownership of the velodrome, which would be surrounded by private development.
“There have been a lot of questions floating around town about the properties this project would go through,” said Mayor Lewis Hosler.
Hosler said the union he works for has had to move several times over the years because of development projects in Pittsburgh and each time an equitable offer was made for the property.
“If you have to buy someone’s business or move someone’s building, you come to an agreement on it,” Hosler said. “It’s just an on-going process until the project is done.”
Lawver assigned the council’s buildings and grounds committee to work with the real estate management firm and the chamber of commerce to make sure the borough officials get the answers to the questions they have before the project continues to move forward.