Lancaster Township Planning Commission tours proposed municipal campus
LANCASTER TWP — Members of Lancaster Township’s Planning Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 28, received a tour of what is likely to be the site of a new municipal campus in coming years.
It was the first time many of them had an opportunity to explore portions of the nearly 13 acres at 600 Perry Highway as township officials continue to lay out a vision for the future.
“It’s essential that we get the proper information out,” said township manager Mary Hess. “We’re more than willing to show people and that’s the plan, is to bring people here so they can actually see it.”
As the group weaved in and out of buildings, Hess answered questions and discussed what officials see as prime real estate to relocate Lancaster’s police, public works and administrative offices.
Lancaster’s police headquarters is currently situated in a different location from the township’s community center, which sits at 113 Kings Alley. However, the new property would change that dynamic as the department continues to expand, Hess said.
“This is about 800 or 900 square feet bigger than the current police station,” Hess added, while pointing to the building that will house the department’s five full-time and two part-time officers.
After entering into a sales agreement in August, the township is on track to purchase the property for $1 million from longtime resident Davina Myers.
All of the contingencies as part of that agreement — a second appraisal, an environmental study and property inspections — have been met, according to Hess. While it’s still unclear when an official vote will be taken, supervisors during a meeting earlier this month approved a debt ordinance that allows them to borrow up to $2 million from WesBanco.
If everything remains on track, Hess said the goal is to have the police moved into their new facility sometime in June 2026.
As of now, officials are planning to keep and renovate three of the five buildings on the property, while the other two that are in disrepair will be demolished.
However, Hess said that parts of each building will require varying degrees of work to prepare them for future occupancy.
“We’re thinking for about $250,000, we can make all the changes that we need to for these structures to be usable,” Hess said. “We might not have siding replaced, but we’ll get the proper commercial doors, the windows moved and things closed in to make it structurally usable.”
Officials also hope to take advantage of the land’s potential for new recreational amenities. The property sits in proximity to 26 acres of township-owned land at Four Springs Park.
“We would have to build a road into the park,” Hess said. “But it would also be nice to have the police be able to go out that way too eventually.”
While it will largely hinge on what kind of grants the township can secure, officials are seeking to one day construct a new community center between what will be the administrative offices and the police headquarters.
In preparation for that endeavor, she noted the township has already applied for a Local Share Account grant of $1 million and will look into other assistance like the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, which is administered by the commonwealth’s Office of the Budget.
Hess noted that other municipalities in the county have consolidated all their departments in one location — a goal Lancaster Township hopes to achieve as well.
“We want to bring them all together,” she said.
