PENNDOT Hermitage gathers ideas for center city project

The city is seeking a state grant to conduct a center city study.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- City officials want a more structured town center, but they aren't interested in creating a traditional "downtown" business district.
What they want is a more recognizable center city district that attracts shoppers and businesses.
Hermitage, long a bedroom community, has developed over the past several decades into a commercial center that has a mall, but is spread out in a series of large and small plazas and free-standing buildings, with few, if any pedestrian amenities.
The city has a natural focal point for a center city project -- the Pa. Route 18 corridor bounded roughly by the Shenango Valley Freeway on the south and the Shenango Valley Mall on the north.
The city has asked the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for an $80,000 grant to conduct a center city study and would have to come up with $20,000 in matching funds, said Gary Gulla, assistant city manager.
Local businesses will be asked to contribute to that study, he said, adding that officials would like to get it started before the end of the year.
Getting input
The Hermitage Economic Development Commission, an advisory arm of the city, is leading the effort to create a city center and heard Thursday from a consultant that specializes in community revitalization.
Representatives of Urban Design Associates of Pittsburgh explained their philosophy on urban revitalization and offered examples of other municipal projects they have worked on, Gulla said.
The consultants suggested Hermitage undertake a market analysis as part of its study to determine what types of businesses would most likely be attracted to the targeted area.
"I think it was a good starting point," Gulla said, adding that, should the city get the PennDOT grant, Urban Design Associates wouldn't necessarily get the contract for the study. Hermitage would have to put out requests for proposals for that service, he said.