Zeli drawing business interest
ZELIENOPLE — After years of planning and hard work, borough residents and visitors are starting to see the fruits of the town's revitalization project.
Construction began in 2016 on the three-part project and will near completion before the end of the year.
“It'll be done,” said Don Pepe, borough manager. “And it'll look great.”
The borough completed the first part last year — the new parking lot behind the Kaufman House.
The second part is the restoration of the Kaufman House.
“The Kaufman House, as you can see when you're out there, the exterior should be completed shortly, within the next month I hope, including with the new front facade,” Pepe said. “Plans have just been approved for that.”
Contractors working on the interior of the building said they expect the first floor restaurant to open this fall. The second and third floors are under way and will be leased as office space.The third part involves the restoration of the town's streets and sidewalks. That work was broken into three phases with the first nearing completion this year.“The first phase is between New Castle and Spring (streets). The second phase is between Spring and Beaver (streets) and the third phase is between New Castle (street) and the bridge going north which would include, if at all possible, the Four Corners Park,” Pepe said. “Now we may have to break that into four phases, make the park the last piece.”The borough has yet to secure funding for the park portion.Pepe considers the revitalization to be a success, crediting much of the town's recent expansions with the borough's willingness to invest in its downtown district.“We now have two other restaurants that are going to be coming into town. I don't think that would have happened if it wasn't for what we've done,” Pepe said. “We have another developer in town, at least one maybe two that have committed to a number of different things in the area here, purchasing properties and everything else. I don't think that would've happened if we didn't take the initial risk to do this.”He said the feedback he's received has been overwhelmingly positive and that he sees the town's efforts as an affirmation of the downtown district's worth as an area great for social, entertainment and commercial activity.“We knew we had to take a risk to move this forward,” Pepe said. “By doing that I think we've been able to show a concern and a commitment to a better community and a better main street.”
