Really cool stuff. Do they have potential tenants for the project, office wise?

No idea if anything is even remotely solid. I'm sure that this project will be done in phases as demand requires. There has been talk that the Erie-Western PA Port Authority would relocate its offices there, and that UPMC would likely be interested in significant space there.

Of the new developments, only the new hotel and parking garage in the center of the pier are U/C, and I imagine that some of the bar/restaurant development will follow pretty soon... so it is happening... but who knows how long it will take to see office and residential added to the mix.

But compared to the large tracts on the east canal basin, progress here on the Sassafras St. pier has been lightning fast. The Scott Enterprises property just to the east has sat empty since 1999. So much for private industry moving quickly...

More renderings of "Bayfront Place":


Looking N towards Sheraton Hotel
http://www.kidderwachter.com/assets/...nt-Place-6.jpg

Looking W
http://www.kidderwachter.com/assets/...nt-Place-5.jpg

Looking W
http://www.kidderwachter.com/assets/...nt-Place-7.jpg

Looking ESE
http://www.kidderwachter.com/assets/...nt-Place-8.jpg

Looking ENE
http://www.kidderwachter.com/assets/...nt-Place-3.jpg

Nothing major, but good news for a building that serves as a hub for the neighborhood... and is definitely in need of an update.

Gannon University plans Nash Library renovations


http://www.goerie.com/storyimage/GE/...-302039956.jpg

http://www.goerie.com/gannon-univers...ry-renovations

Two new entrances.

New study spaces for students.

And -- for those late-night, caffeine-fueled study sessions -- a coffee shop.

Gannon University's Nash Library is getting a multimillion-dollar makeover.

A complete renovation of the exterior and interior of the 82,000-square-foot Sassafras Street building is on track to start July 1, said Linda Wagner, Gannon's vice president for finance and administration.

The university has hired Shelane Buehler, of Erie-based Buehler & Associates, and Mark Freeman, of Boston architectural firm Perry Dean Rogers & Partners Architects, to design the project.

The renovation will include the construction of two new entrances, one on West Sixth Street on the north side of the library, and one on West Seventh Street, on the south side. The current entrance off Sassafras Street will be closed off.

Inside, the design calls for the creation of many new student study spaces, ranging from rooms for one or two students to study in silence to more open, active spaces where small groups could collaborate. Some of the rooms will be equipped with whiteboards and display panels to which students could connect electronic devices. All furniture will be replaced.

The design reflects "how the mission of the library has changed," said Ken Brundage, director of the library.

Upstairs on the third floor of the building, windows look out onto a black membrane roof. That roof will be replaced with a green vegetative roof "not only to enhance views but to provide some sustainability to the design," Brundage said.


Seems like the library will follow the trend in transforming from a traditional library to more of a student commons/study center... especially with Gannon's recent purchase of the Verizon telecom building for use as a library.

http://www.gannonalumni.org/s/740/ph...9091159883.png

http://www.gannonalumni.org/s/740/ph...9550840040.jpg

http://www.gannonalumni.org/s/740/ph...1554537904.png

Some recent views of Sassafras St. pier development; Marriott hotel and parking garage. Can't wait to see these former industrial lands/empty lots filled in.

http://www.goerie.com/storyimage/GE/...-302159943.jpg

http://www.goerie.com/storyimage/GE/...-302149998.jpg

Some views of the new Marriott Hotel under construction on the bayfront:


NW Corner, which will feature indoor/outdoor pool
http://photos.mycapture.com/ERIE/2013537/58071527E.jpg

West side
http://reprints.goerie.com/PHOTOS/ER.../58071531E.jpg

West side
http://reprints.goerie.com/PHOTOS/ER.../58071530E.jpg

Party Deck on east side between hotel and convention center; 1,000 person capacity
http://reprints.goerie.com/PHOTOS/ER.../58071525E.jpg

North side
http://reprints.goerie.com/PHOTOS/ER.../58071518E.jpg

Looking NE
http://reprints.goerie.com/PHOTOS/ER.../58071516E.jpg

Looking ENE aerial
http://reprints.goerie.com/PHOTOS/ER.../58072924E.jpg

http://reprints.goerie.com/PHOTOS/ER.../58072927E.jpg

Don't like that yet another downtown building will be taken off the tax rolls with its purchase by Gannon University, but at least it will be put to productive use. The former brutalist telecom building is prefect for library stacks, and makes sense since Gannon has expanded to envelop the former GTE North (now Verizon) property... with their purchase/renovation of the office portion a few years ago.

This continues the trend of Gannon purchasing former commercial/institutional space and expanding their campus in downtown Erie... Carlisle's Dept Store, Boys & Girls Club, 9th & State office bldg, and now all of the former Verizon property.

http://reprints.goerie.com/PHOTOS/ER.../55556086E.jpg

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/04/07/VuI3F.jpg


Gannon purchases former Verizon call center

Gannon University officials late Wednesday announced the university has purchased the former Verizon call center at 131 W. Ninth St. in Erie.

The multiple-story building will be used as an interim library during a large-scale renovation of Gannon's Nash Library that is scheduled to begin in the summer, officials said.

Verizon closed its directory assistance call center in 2014.

Gannon officials said the former call center was an ideal choice for the interim library because it has several thousand square feet of space and is adjacent to Gannon's Robert H. Morosky Academic Center.

Linda Wagner, the university's vice president of finance and administration, said the former Verizon building needs only minor work such as lighting, heating and cooling to house the interim library.

Wagner said a very favorable investment price and the building's features made the purchase more attractive. "It is already equipped for study carrels, is wired for computers and has ample study space,'' Wagner said. "You couldn't have asked for a better space.''

The Nash Library project will create new entrances on West Sixth and West Seventh streets, 29 new study rooms, and will incorporate a green roof, a computer lab and the S.T.E.M. and writing center.

The project is expected to be completed in about two years, officials said.

Yes!!

Not only am I happy that Dickey's is opening here, but it's good news for the forlorn Liberty Plaza to get a new tenant.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CePl7ozW4AUX1tr.jpg


Dickey's Barbecue Pit opens in Erie

http://www.goerie.com/storyimage/GE/...-304079776.jpg

Dickey's Barbecue Pit is a Dallas-based chain that has more than 545 locations in 43 states. Work has been going on for several months to transform its leased space in the Liberty Center, formerly the Liberty Plaza.


The 3,400-square-foot restaurant is the company's first location outside Texas to debut a new store design that features reclaimed wood, recycled takeout containers and meats smoked using proprietary wood-blend pellets. The Erie location has 20 employees.

http://www.goerie.com/dickeys-barbec...-opens-in-erie

2 distillation/fractioning towers to be built on former Hammermill property on east lakefront... at 140' and 150', these will add to Erie's skyline ;)

Kidding aside, it's very good to see this type of industry forming on the land once occupied by one of the largest paper mills in the world. The company will primarily supply the adjacent Hero BX (former Lake Erie Biofuels), which is one of the largest producers of biodiesel in the nation.

Proposed Erie chemical plants get zoning OK

http://www.sb3erie.com/_images/SB3Bu...=792&width=298

http://www.goerie.com/article/201604...-get-zoning-ok

A company planning to build two chemical plants at the former Hammermill site on East Lake Road has a go-ahead to build structures taller than generally allowed in city industrial districts.

Erie Zoning Board Chairman Mike Hornyak, acting as zoning hearing officer, on Tuesday approved Interstate Chemical Co.'s request for a height variance for two distillation towers for the plants.

The 140-foot and 150-foot towers will strip water from crude methanol and sodium methylate produced at the plants.

Only two people not affiliated with Interstate Chemical spoke at Tuesday's variance hearing, both in support of the taller towers, which they said pose no environmental or other concerns.

http://www.goerie.com/storyimage/GE/...-303319746.jpg

-------

Related:

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/04/14/TmQiM.jpg

A nationwide chemical company plans to expand in Erie by building a $60 million complex that would add as many as 50 jobs.

Interstate Chemical Co., based in Hermitage, Mercer County, is to build two plants on the site of International Paper Co.'s former Hammermill plant on East Lake Road.

The facilities -- for which Interstate Chemical is seeking zoning approval -- would go up on land in the SB3 Industrial Park.

The plants would be just west of Hero BX, the locally owned biofuels business that opened in the former North Yard section of the Hammermill site in 2007.

The proposed chemical plants would complement Interstate Chemical's existing Erie plant, which employs about 35 people at 1432 Chestnut St. That plant will continue to produce chemicals for foundries across the country, Lou Razzano, executive vice president at Interstate Chemical, said Wednesday.

^ I guess that's good news...

While it's good to see a company establishing significant operations in Erie (and that it is the result of a local company's presence) and helping to rebuild a depressing tax base, returning this PRIME lakefront land to industrial use just doesn't feel right to me.

Neither of the companies operating there need to be on the waterfront. And it seems that there is just a much, much better use for this land. Keeping it industrial will serve to keep the surrounding east lakefront less attractive and depressed. The views of the lake and Presque Isle from this site are just about the best in Erie -- a big opportunity was missed here... in terms of the use for this land, and for the missed opportunity to help revitalize the surrounding neighborhood.

:new:NOTICE:new:

I made a P&C thread for PA's smaller cites. If you have photos of or know of projects in some of these cities, you should totally go post in that thread!

https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/p...55_960_720.jpg

Erie's Victorian Princess sails under new group

http://www.goerie.com/article/201605...group#cxrecs_s

ERIE, Pa. -- Kevin Camp knows how to run a restaurant.

He is using his experience to help a particularly unique one stay afloat.

Camp, owner of the Colony Pub & Grille on West Eighth Street and the Erie Arena Sports Bar on French Street, has joined with three partners to take over operation of the Victorian Princess, the dinner and day cruise boat that has plied Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie for 18 years.

Cool project planned for the west side.

Meca, SeaWolves announce plan for adaptive baseball field

http://www.goerie.com/storyimage/GE/...-305169815.jpg

http://www.goerie.com/article/201605...field#cxrecs_s

Meca Inc., in conjunction with the Erie SeaWolves, announced plans Monday to begin fundraising to renovate the C. Francis Haggerty Park, including the construction of an adaptive baseball field for athletes with special needs.

Meca Executive Director Laura Eaton said the project will cost about $1.5 million, which includes a loading area outside of the adaptive field for wheelchairs.

Not development related, but a cool old comparo pic of old eastside Erie. This is St. Benedict Academy and St. Mary Catholic Church. The church was built in 1854 and renovated into its current form in 1933. Good to see these buildiong still standing.

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/05/16/461Hy.jpg

Erie's Jerry Uht Park becomes UPMC Park

http://www.goerie.com/news/20160919/...omes-upmc-park

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/09/19/GENOh.jpg


Aaannnddd..... in true "non-profit" healthcare competition... Erie's Liberty Park Amphitheater on the West Bayfront becomes Highmark Amphitheater!

http://www.goerie.com/news/20160921/...o-liberty-park

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/09/21/JUs8l.jpg

New Marriott is open on Erie's Bayfront. Had a few drinks at the Shoreline Bar & Grill there... beautiful setting.

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/09/19/s6grH.jpg

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/09/19/jakOh.jpg

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/09/19/WDPSe.jpg

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/09/19/UDZS8.jpg

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/09/19/4qYHo.jpg

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/09/19/bUFp.jpg

http://i.picresize.com/images/2016/09/19/YIifQ.jpg

Erie’s Rust Belt Activism

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-a...belt-activism/

Erie and America

The challenges of Rust Belt America are real, and well-known. What’s less familiar is the response some mid-sized cities are making.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/...merica/497060/

I've been reading those articles in the The Atlantic. Cool stuff. I think the eastern great lakes region is an interesting part of the country, I like the blue water and green trees and old cities with cool buildings.

Hopefully Erie strikes a practical balance between one kind of economic development(helping its own citizens grow themselves, tourism and service industry, eds and meds) and the other kind (becoming more friendly to business investments to attract more jobs that ordinary people can apply for).

Many cities have gone too far in either one direction or the other and come out worse for it IMO, while the key to success should be a bit of both.

Yeah, the Atlantic series featuring Erie was a welcome surprise to me. There's been a good bit of interest in Erie from some national media and organizations over the past year or so... ever since the city undertook its first comprehensive plan. Erie seems an interesting case for urban/regional development academics in that its manufacturing economy never really collapsed in the way that happened in other rustbelt cities. It's been more of a very slow bleed off... and those effects are really starting to show... and then at the very same time, you see a revitalizing downtown and waterfront.

Tourism contributes a lot to the region's economy, but Erie is FAR from a tourist town and is never going to become some major tourist travel destination... it's ultra seasonal and of course can't provide the same types of good-paying jobs that the hundreds of larger manufacturers that were there once did. Definitely agree that a balance needs to be found. Erie really needs to adopt a regional focus and align itself with its bigger sister cities in the area. With UPMC making major investments in Erie, a closer connection with Pittsburgh should result (Erie really has always been much more aligned culturally with western NY than any other greater PA region).