GROVE CITY Renewal plans will emerge at meeting

Public areas will be addressed.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- A nonprofit group planning to help revitalize the downtown business district will unveil its proposal at a public meeting Tuesday.
Grove City Revitalization Inc. was formed in 2001 with a goal of revitalizing this borough of 8,000 people. Its first project focuses on the downtown area.
The group has the backing of the borough and the Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce but is really pushing forward on its own, said Dr. David M. Dayton, chairman.
It's raising $73,000 to pay E.G. & amp; G. Inc. of Akron, the consulting firm it hired to develop a revitalization plan. The group has accumulated about $50,000 so far, Dayton said.
Details to come
The plan will be unveiled at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the fellowship hall of East Main Church and will feature concept drawings of how the downtown will look along with an overview of a schedule and cost estimates, he said.
"This is a key meeting," said Mayor Bruce Bennett. "Everyone needs to come so that they can see the plans we have been working on for one year."
Because Grove City Revitalization Inc. is a nonprofit group that accepts tax-exempted contributions, it can work only on the public areas of the municipality, not on private property. Nor can it help private businesses improve their properties, Dayton said.
Instead, the plan will focus on common areas such as sidewalk, curb and street improvements, putting overhead utility lines underground, streetlighting and traffic signals and pedestrian amenities such as benches and landscaping, he said.
The downtown project will be broken into three phases to make it more manageable, Dayton said.
The first phase will deal with a core three-block area bounded by Main, Blair, Broad and Center streets, with some work on West Pine Street and College Avenue.
It's the largest of the three phases and is targeted for a May 2006 completion date, Dayton said.
The second phase would focus on the area around the downtown railroad tracks, East Pine Street and some parking lots and alleys.
The final phase includes Grace and Main streets and an area along Wolf Creek between Pine Street and the railroad bridge.
No timetable has been set for the second and third phases but the group would like all three to be completed in a span of five or six years, Dayton said. He refused to reveal estimated project costs, saying that will be presented at the public meeting at East Main Church.
Funding suggestions
E.G. & amp; G. will come up with suggestions on state, federal and other grant sources to help fund the work, Dayton said. Some money will have to be raised locally, he said, noting that the borough will be expected to contribute and local private fund sources will also be tapped.
"The downtown is the heart of any community. As the downtown goes, so goes the community. Every property owner in Grove City and everyone who shops or comes here for any reason is impacted by the condition of the downtown," Dayton said, urging people to support the group's efforts.