The Cranberry Eagle
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 Article published January 28, 2013

Downtown design contract awarded
Pact is for work on redevelopment

Bob Schultz
Cranberry Eagle

ZELIENOPLE — The borough has made another major commitment to its Main Street revitalization project by awarding a contract to E.G.&G. to provide final designs.
The council awarded the $225,000 contract at a special session Wednesday morning.
The project brings a potential to revitalize and transform downtown Zelienople through a series of improvements and the commitment of business and community leaders.
The overall project is estimated to cost around $7.5 million. It is designed to be done through a series of phases and is dependent on grant funding.
A group of business leaders and citizens last year formed the nonprofit organization Zelienople, PA Revitalization, to jump start the revitalization through its own contributions and seed money from the borough.
Zelienople, PA Revitalization been working with E.G.&G. on the revitalization effort since presenting the concept plans to the public last May.
E.G.&G., based in Fairlawn, Ohio, has worked on more than 70 revitalization projects and has worked locally on projects in Grove City and Slippery Rock.
The firm has submitted major grant applications and plans to submit several others this year for funding.
Borough council members indicated the project cannot go forward without it.
New decorative sidewalks and crosswalks, historic lighting fixtures and traffic signal arms and gateways at each end of Main Street are some of the main features of the effort.
The priority will be to improve parking downtown before some of the aesthetic items are addressed.
John Grossmann, principal emeritus project development at E.G.&G., said the scope and prioritization of the project will be determined by funding resources. He said he hopes to learn about the status of grants later this spring.
The Zelienople Downtown Revitalization Project’s three goals are to improve the appearance and infrastructure within the borough, to stimulate economic revitalization and to promote the borough.
The project area runs on Main Street from Northview Drive to Culvert Street, including the blocks in between.
The designers are looking at the feasibility of moving the utility lines underground through the corridor or running them down one side of Main Street.
At Four Corners Parks at Grandview Avenue, a concept is set in motion to improve the connectivity of the parks and establish a northern gateway with crosswalks, a public fountain, a pedestrian circle connecting the parks and a more defined memorial plaza.