ERIE | Development Projects Thread

[DFWCC8]

California outfit set to take over RenCenter.
She's a little tired and needs a redo.
heard they may convert half to hotel.

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/lo...y/70281318007/

[AKZips]

Originally Posted by DFWCC8

California outfit set to take over RenCenter.
She's a little tired and needs a redo.
heard they may convert half to hotel.

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/lo...y/70281318007/

I'm not sure what they have in mind for enhancing the building. But I've always thought it would be cool if they added some colorful LED lights onto the top several floors, like the Terminal Tower in Cleveland. Have them synced to music during the holidays, turn yellow when the Otters are playing, red for the SeaWolves, etc. Erie's skyline desperately needs some character. Especially at night.

[pj3000]

I think they could/will start with updating the envelope and mechanical improvements. The fact that the building still has window unit ACs is a fucking embarrassment. The previous owner Tom Kennedy didn’t do shit with the building for 20+ years besides slap cheap billboards on the top of the south side. Yet he called it “Renaissance Center”… I mean, how goddamn cheesy and disingenuous can you be?

Full glazing and HVAC replacement is the first step.

I would say that a building of this size in the Erie market should be mixed-use. 1/3 office, 1/3 residential, 1/3 hotel (boutique) with restaurant on top floor.

[AKZips]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I think they could/will start with updating the envelope and mechanical improvements. The fact that the building still has window unit ACs is a fucking embarrassment. The previous owner Tom Kennedy didn’t do shit with the building for 20+ years besides slap cheap billboards on the top of the south side. Yet he called it “Renaissance Center”… I mean, how goddamn cheesy and disingenuous can you be?

Full glazing and HVAC replacement is the first step.

I would say that a building of this size in the Erie market should be mixed-use. 1/3 office, 1/3 residential, 1/3 hotel (boutique) with restaurant on top floor.

Bingo. A restaurant on the top floor would be fantastic.

[jFug]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I would say that a building of this size in the Erie market should be mixed-use. 1/3 office, 1/3 residential, 1/3 hotel (boutique) with restaurant on top floor.

I think this is a really good idea. Downtown needs a hotel that's more central to everything and the Ren Centre's location can't be beat.

Hopefully the Avalon gets purchased by the NYC company and is converted into residential.

[DFWCC8]

Originally Posted by AKZips

I'm not sure what they have in mind for enhancing the building. But I've always thought it would be cool if they added some colorful LED lights onto the top several floors, like the Terminal Tower in Cleveland. Have them synced to music during the holidays, turn yellow when the Otters are playing, red for the SeaWolves, etc. Erie's skyline desperately needs some character. Especially at night.

A few yrs back maybe 2012 or so Kennedy had spolights from a cornice on about the 12th floor shinning upward. looked cool but when the bulbs burned so the lights went off for good.

[pj3000]

^ Kennedy was basically a slum lord. Absolutely zero meaningful investment in the building.

It’s time to forget about the past and support new development ideas in Erie

[pj3000]

A nice restaurant would be great in this neighborhood. I'd rather see this mistake of a building removed and the parcel fully redeveloped, but I imagine that there isn't demand for it presently, so a restaurant for the time being makes sense. This could be a major step in revitalization of this stretch of downtown, in concert with all of the historical rebuilds that are still happening on W6th St.

Also, I like how the article refers to him as "businessman, preservationist and developer". All true, but they left off the most important description -- billionaire.


Erie's Tom Hagen has plan for restaurant in former AAA building on West Sixth Street

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/20...n/70361565007/

Erie businessman, preservationist and developer Tom Hagen has been driven by a vision for restoring to their original grandeur homes in and around West Sixth Street's millionaire's row.

His vision, however, for the former AAA building at 420 W. Sixth St., has evolved over time.

Hagen, who is the chairman of Erie Insurance, has repeatedly said that he wasn't a fan of the of the single-story building that replaced the Charles M. Reed Jr. mansion, built in 1868, that stood on that site until it was demolished in 1970.

“It’s not a very attractive building in my view. I have never particularly cared for it,” Hagen said in 2020 after paying $1.5 million for the 13,000-square-foot structure.

Hagen said his initial plan was to improve the building, finding a way to make it better fit for the tree-lined street that's home to a number of mansions that Hagen has restored.

Something is going to be done there,” Hagen said in 2020. “I don’t know what it’s going to be. Whatever isdone will be an improvement.”

A new plan for the property
By October of 2021, Hagen was seeing things differently.

"No, we are not going to restore this place," he told the Erie Times-News. "We may use it as a kind of temporary office space, but eventually the building will be replaced."

Nearly two years later, Hagen says his affection for the building has not grown. But along with his architect and builder, he is working on a plan to reuse the building and make its appearance more pleasing in the process.

Architect Jeff Kidder, who works with Hagen, is scheduled to appear July 11 in Erie City Council Chambers for a zoning variance for the property at 420 W. Sixth St. Hagen and Kidder are seeking a dimensional variance that would allow an eating and drinking establishment located in the building to exceed 5,000 square feet.

"I don't know exactly yet, but I think we will be using the building in a different form. It's a pretty ugly building right now," Hagen said.

On the other hand, he said, "The building is a good solid building. We think we can make some modifications and transform it into a more attractive building."

Hagen did confirm that the building will be used by a restaurant operator who would lease the building from Hagen.

"It's someone who is an expert in the business," he said.

Hagen said he has a couple of goals in mind as he moves ahead ahead with the request for a variance.

"I think the two things would be to beautify and to bring a viable business to the area," he said.

Hagen, who is moving ahead at the moment with a handful of other preservation projects, said this planned transformation will take some time to complete.

"I think we would like to see something accomplished by the end of next year," he said.

[pj3000]

The new mixed-used building on the corner of W5th & State streets in Lower Downtown is pretty nice looking.

[pj3000]

In addition to all of the ongoing, impressive, "spare-no-expense" renovations going on along Erie's West 6th St. "Millionaires Row", it's great to see that Erie-based billionaire Tom Hagen is also now addressing historic homes on nearby West 8th Street. Erie's lower west side contains some amazing rough gems.

THAYER-THOMPSON HOUSE — C.1861
605 W8th St. (SW corner of W8th & Cherry St.)
- Added to National Register of Historic Places in 1985
- Built by industrialist Oscar Cornelius Thayer (owned Erie City Oil Works, one of the first oil refineries in the US)
- Fusion of two architectural styles: Tuscan Villa and Italianate







GRIFFITH-O’BRIEN-ENGLISH HOUSE — C.1880
613 W8th St. (next door to above hose)
- Constructed as two three-bedroom apartments
- Current renovation will transform the property into four one-bedroom units.

[pj3000]

News on the redevelopment of the western portion of the former Erie Malleable Iron works in Erie's W12th St. industrial corridor. The eastern portion is now occupied by the Cathedral Prep athletic complex.

Reclaiming rubble: Erie's former EMI site is ready for renovations to begin

https://www.goerie.com/story/busines...e/70613795007/

After months of knocking over walls, hauling away debris and squeezing a portion of eastbound West 12th Street into just one lane, demolition of the former Erie Malleable Iron Co. site is complete.

The Erie County Redevelopment Authority, the owner of the property, has transformed what was once a crumbling monument to Erie's manufacturing past into shovel-ready building site at the western end of the property, and a 70,000-square-foot space that awaits renovation on the Cherry Street end of the property.

And now, Erie's Bostwick Design Partnership, the Redevelopment Authority's architect for the project, is offering a look at its plans for a new addition on the western end of what's going to be known as Ironworks Square.

Architect Dave Brennan said the addition will include a new facade and an entrance where derelict brick buildings stood until recently.

"We are really combining the new with the historic and we are being very cautious about how we bring those two together. We want it all to blend," Brennan said.

Brennan said one of the goals is to recapture the look and architecture of the building as it would have appeared in the 1930s and 1940s.

In addition to installing new stairways and an elevator, restoration work will include having bricks pointed and installing a new roof, windows and concrete slab.

Renovation plans aren't complete and will take shape as tenants come on board, but Brennan said the design will likely include a conference space as well as some type of food venue, possibly a microbrewery.

Brennan said one of the goals is to recapture the look and architecture of the building as it would have appeared in the 1930s and 1940s.

In addition to installing new stairways and an elevator, restoration work will include having bricks pointed and installing a new roof, windows and concrete slab.

Renovation plans aren't complete and will take shape as tenants come on board, but Brennan said the design will likely include a conference space as well as some type of food venue, possibly a microbrewery.

In another sense, a great deal of actual recycling took place as structural steel was set aside for recycling and more than 12,000 bricks were salvaged to make repairs to the remaining structure.

[DFWCC8]

From Erie times News article.
With public agency's help, developer poised to buy Erie's Avalon Hotel, make it apartments

A developer from New York City has arranged to buy the Avalon Hotel in downtown Erie and transform it into a 219-unit apartment complex
Developer got zoning variance for project in December, then focused on financing
Avalon originally opened as a Hilton in 1976 in project meant to help revitalize downtown — same goal as planned renovation of Avalon.

A multimillion-dollar makeover is getting closer for the Avalon Hotel, the declining eight-story landmark that takes up about half of a city block in downtown Erie.
A New York City developer is working with a subsidiary of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority to secure $45 million in bond financing to fund the renovation of the 193-room, 150,000-square foot Avalon into 219 market-rate apartments targeted to younger workers.
The Industrial Development Authority, an affiliate of the Redevelopment Authority, is scheduled to vote on Tuesday on issuing $45 million in bonds for the project, including the purchase of the Avalon, at 16 W. 10th St., between State and Peach streets. The vote is to occur immediately after the Industrial Development.
The Erie County Industrial Development Authority is to loan the $45 million in bond revenue to the Community Finance Corp., an Arizona-based nonprofit that is affiliated with the developer of the Avalon project, GoodHomesCo LLC.

The Industrial Development Authority is acting only as a conduit for the bond issue and is not underwriting the bonds or agreeing to accept any responsibility for their repayment, said Chris Groner, vice president of capital financing and lending at the Erie County Redevelopment Authority. He said the developer will be responsible for the repayment.
As a tax-exempt organization, the Industrial Development Authority can get better rates on bonds than more traditional agencies. Groner said the Avalon project will not be tax exempt. The authority has helped secure bond financing for a number of public and private projects in Erie County over the years.

Full Article
https://www.goerie.com/story/news/lo...t/70711077007/

[DFWCC8]

Money secured for Avalon Hotel referb to 219 apartments.
Expected start date 10/31/2023.
Project expected to take 14 months for the conversion.

[pj3000]

More West 6th Street historic renovation planned. The former Robert Jarecki house (built 1909) on the corner of W6th & Cherry purchased by billionaire Tom Hagen for future restoration. Great example of Classical Revival style. Good to see that these great old homes will receive the spare-no-expense historically-accurate updates and remain owned by an historic preservation trust in perpetuity.

Erie's Tom Hagen eyes restoration of another historic property

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/20...n/70864864007/

[pj3000]

A good look at the transformation of the corner of W5th between Peach & State Streets. A drive-thru McDonalds and a big surface parking lot replaced with 5-story mixed-use, residential, and parking garage.

[photoLith]

That looks fantastic, that’s better than mostly everything being built in Pittsburgh.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by photoLith

That looks fantastic, that’s better than mostly everything being built in Pittsburgh.

Yeah, they're doing a good job investing in quality construction. I really like how they are using mainly brick and stone on the facades, rather than the flimsy vinyl and aluminum panels that we see so often on new residential buildings of this size.

They have Albert Kahn architects out of Detroit doing the design, who isn't going to win any awards for groundbreaking architecture, but their buildings are highly functional and are built to last. The firm is not cheap, but Erie Insurance, which is a big funder behind these lower downtown redvelopment efforts, has very deep pockets. What's great is that their chairman is a billionaire and he is a very strong historical preservationist. He's behind all the historic renovations happening around downtown Erie... buying old mansions that feel into disrepair and is sparing no expense in doing full historically-accurate restorations while transforming them into higher-end condos/apartments.

The apartment building that wraps around the 300+ space parking garage looks pretty good as well... I love the curved art-deco inspired corner.

[pj3000]

Not the greatest view, but the new apartment buildings in lower downtown on W5th between State and Peach streets really fill that former gap nicely.

[DFWCC8]

EDDC announces new bldg

Here's the story from WICU TV (no log-in)

https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/50...north-park-row

[pj3000]

^ Cool, very good to see this taking shape and the momentum continuing.

Some screenshots showing the basic renderings. I like that there is the mid-block walkway planned to connect to the development/parking garage on W5th. Very important!