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  #361  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2020, 5:03 PM
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^ I saw that. I guess high winds caused it to become unstable, so work crews brought it all the way down. A public art mural was recently completed at the site honoring prominent local 93 year-old, Luther Manus, for his lifetime of community service. He and his family own the gas station at E12th & French streets.

I'd love to see them sell the land and move their business somewhere more appropriate for a gas station, so that this parcel could be developed for a much better downtown use.
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  #362  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2020, 6:53 PM
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^ I saw that. I guess high winds caused it to become unstable, so work crews brought it all the way down. A public art mural was recently completed at the site honoring prominent local 93 year-old, Luther Manus, for his lifetime of community service. He and his family own the gas station at E12th & French streets.

I'd love to see them sell the land and move their business somewhere more appropriate for a gas station, so that this parcel could be developed for a much better downtown use.
Ahh. Thanks for the clarification, and agreed. Gas stations in denser city centers are a remnant of an older era. I doubt this would be the thing to compel them to move though. Downtown Kalamazoo has two gas stations sitting on opposite corners of what could & should be one of its densest areas of development (and surface lots on the remaining two corners)!
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  #363  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2020, 7:20 PM
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Ahh. Thanks for the clarification, and agreed. Gas stations in denser city centers are a remnant of an older era. I doubt this would be the thing to compel them to move though. Downtown Kalamazoo has two gas stations sitting on opposite corners of what could & should be one of its densest areas of development (and surface lots on the remaining two corners)!
It's a great location for them, as operators of a gas station, since it's right on 12th Street (PA Rt. 5)... one of Erie's major E-W thoroughfares. It's basically a highway that runs right through downtown Erie. Right in the general vicinity are multiple auto-oriented uses... just fronting along 12th St. within 3 blocks east or west of this gas station site are: McDonald's, Arby's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Tim Horton's (all with drive-thrus and surface parking), 2 banks with drive-thrus and surface parking, a Family Dollar with surface parking, a shitty office/shopping plaza with surface parking, and 3 auto service/sales shops. It's truly a completely auto-oriented environment... and UGLY as hell.

To get at the heart of the issue (and to truly revitalize the core of downtown Erie), 12th Street needs to be dramatically rethought and redesigned.
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  #364  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2020, 8:04 PM
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It's a great location for them, as operators of a gas station, since it's right on 12th Street (PA Rt. 5)... one of Erie's major E-W thoroughfares. It's basically a highway that runs right through downtown Erie. Right in the general vicinity are multiple auto-oriented uses... just fronting along 12th St. within 3 blocks east or west of this gas station site are: McDonald's, Arby's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Tim Horton's (all with drive-thrus and surface parking), 2 banks with drive-thrus and surface parking, a Family Dollar with surface parking, a shitty office/shopping plaza with surface parking, and 3 auto service/sales shops. It's truly a completely auto-oriented environment... and UGLY as hell.

To get at the heart of the issue (and to truly revitalize the core of downtown Erie), 12th Street needs to be dramatically rethought and redesigned.
Agreed. 12th Street is a Grand Canyon dividing the Union Square area from the rest of downtown.

Lanes should be narrowed dramatically along will a median between Sassafras and Holland. There are curb bump-outs in this area already but they do very little when the road is as wide as it is.
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  #365  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2020, 8:27 PM
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Finally!

This has been a long time coming to give Presque Isle the entrance it deserves, rather than the trashy trailers and vacant land that have been allowed to exist there for way too long. PA should have exercised a taking of this property far earlier (and it wouldn't have been too hard), but obviously that's not a favored solution.

State pays $4.6 million for 18-acre gateway to Presque Isle State Park

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/20...rk/4102026001/


Schickalay's on the Bay, 2860 W. Sixth St. in Millcreek Township, is shown on Dec. 7. The building is included in the sale of an 18-acre parcel to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that was finalized Thursday.


Quote:
Presque Isle State Park just got a little larger.

The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has announced the acquisition of more than 18 acres that will serve as a gateway to the state park, located in Millcreek Township.

The property, which was purchased from Erie-based BAC Inc., extends south from the Tom Ridge Environmental Center property to West Sixth Street.

"We always felt this was a critical piece for the park, especially in terms of a gateway to Presque Isle. We have an opportunity to not only preserve that gateway into the park, we have an opportunity to mitigate some of the stormwater problems that Scott Run has."

“The efforts over nearly 20 years to acquire the BAC property were extraordinary,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said in a prepared statement. “Acquisitions like this take hard work, dedication, and cooperation among many of our partners in Erie."

Schickalay's on the Bay, 2860 W. Sixth St. in Millcreek Township, is one of the most visible locations in the newly acquired property.

The restaurant won't be returning to that location in 2021.

"The tenants that were in that property have moved out," Greene said.

He said BAC Live Bait, located on the property at 317 Peninsula Drive, is also vacant as it was for much of 2020.

The property also was home to BAC Inc. Peninsula Mobile Park. Residents of the park have been seen moving out in recent weeks.

Constantine Nacopoulos, who is listed as the president of BAC, could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

According to a statement from DCNR, there has been a vision since 2002 for a greenway along the eastern side of Peninsula Drive from West Sixth Street to the park.

According to DCNR, "This project will advance plans to restore the property to a natural environment, and as an appropriate 'gateway' to Presque Isle State Park. Additionally, important greenway development, visitor connections, and environmental issue mitigation will be attained and made through this acquisition."

Plans for the new property have not been finalized.

"Now that we have finally closed on the property, the goal is to start looking at how we can potentially put a plan together to conserve that property," Greene said.

In a statement, Bureau of State Parks Director John Hallas praised the "patience of BAC and the assistance of our partners."

Ultimately, he said, the purchase will advance the comprehensive plan of Millcreek Township while "creating a welcoming gateway to the peninsula."

Last edited by pj3000; Jan 1, 2021 at 4:50 PM.
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  #366  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2020, 8:31 PM
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Agreed. 12th Street is a Grand Canyon dividing the Union Square area from the rest of downtown.

Lanes should be narrowed dramatically along will a median between Sassafras and Holland. There are curb bump-outs in this area already but they do very little when the road is as wide as it is.
Yeah, Erie (and Millcreek Twp.) really needs to address 12th St. in general. But in the downtown area, it is vital to the success of planned developments at the Citizens Bank block, the General Tire buildings/Daka Paper block, and the redevelopment of the long-delayed townhouses between Peach & State, south of 12th.

What is Union Square area?
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  #367  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2020, 9:24 PM
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Yeah, Erie (and Millcreek Twp.) really needs to address 12th St. in general. But in the downtown area, it is vital to the success of planned developments at the Citizens Bank block, the General Tire buildings/Daka Paper block, and the redevelopment of the long-delayed townhouses between Peach & State, south of 12th.

What is Union Square area?
The Erie downtown Partnership divides downtown Erie into four districts.

Bayfront- waterfront to 4th St.
Perry Square- 4th to 8th St.
Renaissance- 8th to 12th St.
Union Square- 12th St. to the railroad tracks

Unfortunately they suck at marketing this stuff, so no one would really know about these name lol
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  #368  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2020, 9:35 PM
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^ Oh, ok. I'm not into the branding efforts to reclassify neighborhoods, nor to try to group everything into made up "districts".

I hate that crap. It's a ploy long used by real estate types and unfortunately now adopted by "neighborhood improvement organizations".

Union Square is a ridiculous name because there is no Union Square in Erie. There is a square in that neighborhood and it's called Griswold Plaza.

And "Renaissance" is just beyond stupid.

Kinda like how they kept trying to call that part of downtown between 12th and 14th "Midtown"... when there long has been a Midtown Erie to the south between the 19th St. tracks and 26th... which they sometimes now try to brand as the "Hill District".

It all just reeks of trying way too hard, and ignoring the actual historic names of places.
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  #369  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2020, 10:25 PM
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Here are some images of the new Erie Insurance building - complete but not occupied yet, due to COVID-19.

The new building is high-quality and definitely a major addition to downtown Erie. This is going to bring a significant increase in downtown workers, and hopefully, residents too.

Obviously, would have much preferred it to be a tall building, rather than continuing the company's campus-style footprint. And ground-level occupancy along French Street by a cafe and/or restaurant would have been much preferred to the sterile, compound-like security perimeter, but what can we really expect from an insurance company.

But it's without question a huge improvement over the surface parking lot that was there.
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  #370  
Old Posted Jan 1, 2021, 3:56 AM
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Hey all. New member here!

I actually came across this forum by accident but found all the updates really interesting. I run an Erie development thread on city-data forum and was born and raised in Erie.

All the development and construction happening right now is very exciting!
Welcome to the site.
Currently living in Erie. Love my hometown. Lived in DFW Tx for 26yrs too long.
Hit all 50 + 51 countries. Returned 13yrs ago when I retired. Never a thought of leaving again.
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  #371  
Old Posted Jan 1, 2021, 10:13 PM
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Residence Inn by Marriott at Harbor Place

I'm not sure if any have you have seen these images but Scott Enterprises has been planning a second hotel for the Harbor Place devlopment on the bayfront for awhile. They recently did mention Residence Inn as the possible brand for the hotel.

Lo and behold, I go on Weber Murphy Fox's website and see images for the hotel. According to the listing the hotel is planned to be 8 stories, have 96 rooms, and a conference center. The current Hampton Inn can be seen at the left.



https://www.wmf-inc.com/projects/mar...pe=&challenge=
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  #372  
Old Posted Jan 2, 2021, 6:08 PM
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I'm not sure if any have you have seen these images but Scott Enterprises has been planning a second hotel for the Harbor Place devlopment on the bayfront for awhile. They recently did mention Residence Inn as the possible brand for the hotel.

Lo and behold, I go on Weber Murphy Fox's website and see images for the hotel. According to the listing the hotel is planned to be 8 stories, have 96 rooms, and a conference center. The current Hampton Inn can be seen at the left.



https://www.wmf-inc.com/projects/mar...pe=&challenge=
I don't remember if I've seen that exact version yet. Those finishes look like they could be minorly better than the Hampton Inn's.

Here's a link to a video that Erie Downtown Development Corporation put together - EDDC Year in Review 2020.
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  #373  
Old Posted Jan 4, 2021, 3:37 AM
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I'm not sure if any have you have seen these images but Scott Enterprises has been planning a second hotel for the Harbor Place devlopment on the bayfront for awhile. They recently did mention Residence Inn as the possible brand for the hotel.

Lo and behold, I go on Weber Murphy Fox's website and see images for the hotel. According to the listing the hotel is planned to be 8 stories, have 96 rooms, and a conference center. The current Hampton Inn can be seen at the left.



https://www.wmf-inc.com/projects/mar...pe=&challenge=
This is nothing but a very prelim proposal at this point. It was posted many pages back. Weber Murphy Fox is a low-quality firm, but buddies with Nick Scott of Scott Enterprises, so they'll get the "design" job unfortunately.

This rendering looks like a good design... and so did the original rendering for the Hampton ... and we saw how that came out. WMF is a "value" architecture firm, with their crap all over Erie. The main library and the new Marquette Bank building on 10th and Peach are prime examples of their weird, multi-brick & concrete block style designs.

Last edited by pj3000; Jan 4, 2021 at 3:55 PM.
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  #374  
Old Posted Jan 4, 2021, 3:53 PM
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I'm hoping that this will find a home near downtown Erie, where there is good access to public transportation, other academic resources, and the amenities to support a population of students in the daytime and evening hours. It makes the most sense to me.

Erie County Community College launches search for first home

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/ed...me/6507592002/

Some of the mentioned options?:

Edinboro University Porecco Center on West 38th St. in Millcreek Twp has long been mentioned as a possible community college campus, since it has the facilities already existing (which is a big plus). Though location is not central to the majority of the potential student population. This converted barn is the main classroom building. I doubt that PASSHE will want to part with this extensive piece of property though -- the former horse farm/estate is a very nice facility, and given their current financial woes, I can't see them parting with it for a cheap price.


Erie County Vo-Tech facility is out in the middle of nowhere in a rather rural part of Summit Township. I don't see how this makes sense for a college campus.


Villa Maria High School/Villa Maria College campus on West 8th St. in Millcreek Twp could be an attractive location. Existing facilities, an actual college campus setting, good transportation access, access to amenities. Though dealing with the Catholic Diocese...


Erie Business Center on West 9th St. in downtown Erie could be an ideal location given the existing facility for sale and central city location. Though I don't think the space is adequate, the building nor the property for expansion. There just doesn't seem to be enough room there.


Mercyhurst University-North East is a beautiful campus, with ample facilities, but simply too far away from the population of Erie's urbanized area. The distance alone would deter enrollment.



New construction options:

- surface parking lot at West 10th & Sassafras streets
- former Erie Central Mall building/surface lots (this is occupied, but I can't imagine that they actually use all that sq footage)
- surface lots around Lovell Place complex
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  #375  
Old Posted Jan 4, 2021, 7:53 PM
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Amazon Fulfillment Center coming to Millcreek Township

"Amazon plans to bring a fulfillment center to a former industrial building in Millcreek Township.

It will be located the former AMSCO-Steris property on W. 23rd St.

The company has already posted jobs and been hiring for truck drivers, warehouse workers and more.

It's expected to bring 100 jobs to the area."

https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/43...DdqcEFSBKgkhwE
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  #376  
Old Posted Jan 4, 2021, 8:14 PM
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I'm hoping that this will find a home near downtown Erie, where there is good access to public transportation, other academic resources, and the amenities to support a population of students in the daytime and evening hours. It makes the most sense to me.
I work for EMTA and I agree, the community college should be downtown.

95% of our bus routes originate from and terminate downtown.

The community college should be placed close to the main demographic of people who will use it's facilities.

Millcreek: No
Summit: Hell no
North East: Nope
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  #377  
Old Posted Jan 4, 2021, 8:59 PM
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Originally Posted by jfug View Post
"amazon plans to bring a fulfillment center to a former industrial building in millcreek township.

It will be located the former amsco-steris property on w. 23rd st.

The company has already posted jobs and been hiring for truck drivers, warehouse workers and more.

It's expected to bring 100 jobs to the area."

https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/43...ddqcefsbkgkhwe
good catch
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  #378  
Old Posted Jan 4, 2021, 9:50 PM
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I work for EMTA and I agree, the community college should be downtown.

95% of our bus routes originate from and terminate downtown.

The community college should be placed close to the main demographic of people who will use it's facilities.

Millcreek: No
Summit: Hell no
North East: Nope
I think as a public institution, a community college should be located where it can best serve the public, specifically where it can best serve the majority of the public. And that is in the most accessible and cohesive area.

Under these parameters, downtown locations serve as the best sites; where, as you mention, it can serve the main demographic who will utilize its offerings.

This tends to piss people off who live out in the far suburbs or rural areas. But too bad. This is the way the entire world works. Urban colleges, universities, libraries, and other institutions bring people to them and into cities from throughout metropolitan areas. Every city in the world functions this way because it works MUCH better than the alternative.
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  #379  
Old Posted Jan 4, 2021, 10:39 PM
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Noticed that the apartments in Midtown-Federal Hill were renovated and the exterior was painted. Looks like a rather crappy job... cheap paint, left the old junky doors and windows.



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  #380  
Old Posted Jan 5, 2021, 3:00 AM
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Okay, so I have a few educated guesses as to what brand the old Downtown Erie Hotel (W. 18th and Peach) will operate under when it opens.

The owners have stated that they are not trying to compete with the bayfront hotels and want to offer a more affordable option. As someone who went to school for hotel management and has worked in the hospitality industry for years, these are the brands I could see for that property:

-Sleep Inn (Choice Hotels)
-Four Points by Sheraton (Marriott)
-Holiday Inn Express (IHG)
-Clarion Hotel (Choice Hotels)
-Tru by Hilton (Hilton)
-Comfort Inn & Suites (Choice Hotels)

I think any brand below this tier of hotels would be a waste of a renovation. For instance if they decided to brand it as a Super 8 or Rodeway Inn, I don't think it would attract as many people, even if it were brand new.

Thoughts?
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