NEW CASTLE Downtown fix-up plan advances

Plans call for 25 buildings to be razed for new parking lots.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The city is fighting blight.
Members of the city planning commission approved a 20-year redevelopment area plan that will allow for street resurfacing, create more parking and provide better access to downtown buildings.
The plan will go to city council for a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday and it could be approved sometime in April.
The plan is part of the formal application process to get the $5 million promised to the city by Gov. Tom Ridge from the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
The money was given to the city for a public/private development meant to revitalize downtown. The city will contribute an additional $4.6 million through loans, bonds and other government funding sources. Private developers are also expected to spend at least $2.4 million on property improvements.
Razing: As part of the 20-year plan the city has tentative plans to buy and raze 25 buildings for parking and other improvements.
Among the buildings slated for demolition is the B & amp;O New Castle Employees Federal Credit Union, 27 S. Mill St. City council agreed Thursday night to buy the building at a cost of $150,000. An additional $30,000 in relocation costs will be paid to the credit union.
City Administrator John DiMuccio said the city will construct a public access way to the Neisner Building, owned by Cascade Development, in place of the credit union.
The Neisner Building is one of three buildings slated for a Warner Bros.-themed mall planned by Cascade Development.
DiMuccio said the city will construct and could lease or sell the access building to the Cascade Development complex. It will include escalators and other points of entry, he said.
City officials estimated it will cost about $1.4 million to acquire and raze all of the buildings. Plans estimate about five to 10 families and businesses will be displaced.
DiMuccio said tentative plans call for the streets to be resurfaced and parking lots finished by November 2002.
Streets: DiMuccio said work should begin this year on placing underground utilities on Mill and East Washington streets and changing the traffic patterns on East and North streets to allow two-way traffic and bus lanes. Next year, East Washington and Mill streets should be reconstructed and resurfaced, he said.
DiMuccio said those plans are tentative and the city has a three-year window set up by the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to spend the $5 million.
City officials stressed the downtown improvements are not only meant for the Warner Bros.-themed mall, although they are being done in conjunction with that plan.
"We're hoping other developers and building owners will make improvements to their buildings and benefit from the city's improvements," DiMuccio said.
Tom George of Cascade Development echoed those statements.
"It's not only a benefit to us. It's a benefit the city and all of its residents. The money used will improve all of downtown," he said.
George said his project will include entertainment venues such as movie theaters and retail stores.
"The overall picture for downtown looks very bright," he said.