After nearly seven years of planning and delays, the long-awaited Bellefonte Waterfront project might finally break ground this year.
Bellefonte Borough Council on Monday gave conditional approval to a final land development plan for the project, which will include a hotel and restaurant in one building and a parking facility, condos and commercial space an another. The council previously approved updated designs for the project, which is located in the borough’s historic district, in March
Developer Tom Songer said he is hopeful construction will begin in the fall.
“We think we’re very close to getting this thing launched this year,” Songer said. “It’s been a challenging project in many ways, but we think that the project we have before you tonight is really a very good project for Bellefonte Borough. We’ve done a lot of improvements to the project through the COVID period and subsequent to COVID to improve the project.”
The development was originally conceived as three buildings, with the hotel in one, a parking garage and commercial space in another and condos and commercial space in the third, but it was reduced to two last year.
“We value-engineered the project because parking garages are so expensive to build that we decided to combine the two buildings into one building,” Songer said.
The first building, at the corner of High and Dunlop streets, will be a national brand boutique hotel with 93 guest rooms. The 75-feet-tall, six-story building will have a first-floor, farm-to-table restaurant with seating for about 100, as well as covered outdoor seating, and will offer a “rooftop experience.”
“We think that’s going to be the real ‘wow’ factor for the project,” Songer said. “When you’re sitting up on the sixth floor of the hotel, you’ll be able to have a panoramic view of all of Bellefonte.”
The second building, which will be constructed at the same time, will have 268 parking spaces on three levels, and Songer said he expects it will offer both license place scanning technology and a ticket option for payment.
It will also include ground-floor commercial space and 48 condominiums with one- and two-bedroom options and floors four through six. Buyers will be able to customize the interior finishes, such as cabinetry, lighting and flooring.
The developers plan to market the condos in earnest once construction begins, but Songer said they are already garnering interest.
“We’re already sort of marketing that and I have a lot of interest in the condominium units, but we won’t be selling any condo units until we actually start the project,” he said.
The property will also have 90 surface parking spaces, along with a brick walkway connecting the hotel and garage/condo building and a promenade between the buildings and Spring Creek. The brick-paved promenade, Songer said, will serve as a public gathering and walking space and will adjoin the outdoor seating for the restaurant.
Approval of the land development plan is contingent on council approval of a legal agreement to vacate Dunlop Street; a completed transportation impact study and highway occupancy
permit, or written confirmation from PennDOT indicating that neither is required; a recorded easement on a parcel adjacent to the east side of the Bellefonte Wastewater Treatment
Plant to be used as a riparian zone offset; and an approved NPDES permit for stormwater discharge.
Borough officials have long believed the waterfront project would be an economic boon, but it has been beset by delays over the years.
In 2018, Songer and hotel partner Mark Morath unveiled the initial plans for the project on the former site of the historic Bush House, which burned down in 2006. The group finalized the acquisition of the property from the Bellefonte Area Industrial Development Authority in 2019, the year they had originally hoped to start construction.
That turned into 2020, and following the impacts of COVID and inflation, 2022, as the developers continued to pursue state grants and adjust the project.
Now, Songer seems confident the project is nearing fruition.
“We’re very excited about the project and we’re looking forward to getting it started this fall,” he said.
