A long-discussed idea to turn a downtown State College street into a seasonal pedestrian plaza will come to fruition this summer.
“East End Social” will transform Hiester Street from East College Avenue to East Calder Way into a “pop-up park” for nearly three months, with live music, public art and community programming, organizers from the Downtown State College Improvement District said at Thursday night’s Borough Council meeting.
Council approved the street closure from May 11 to Aug. 3, as well as an open container ordinance waiver that will allow for the sale of alcohol in the park on a few select dates during the summer.
“We see this as a place-making opportunity in downtown State College,” Lee Anne Jeffries, DSCID executive director, said. “Every program we create is intentionally designed to be welcoming and accessible. But as we plan for the future, we are thinking more intentionally about how to foster connection and how to create a true third place beyond work and home, and how to cultivate a culture of community play.”
The concept no doubt sounds familiar to many local residents. In 2020, Borough Council approved “Summers on Allen,” a similar plan spearheaded by Centre Foundation that would have turned the 100 block of South Allen Street into a pedestrian mall with amenities and community events for two months.
That plan was well-received, though some detractors cited concerns about traffic and parking impacts, and said they feared it would economically damage Allen Street businesses. After COVID-19 hit, “Summers on Allen” was scrapped and the plan was never resurrected, but a number of elected officials and residents have continued to express a desire to have a walkable community gathering space downtown, and an Allen Street Promenade has remained in the borough’s planning.
“We’ve heard a lot about ‘Summers on Allen’ over the years,” Jeffries said. “This is kind of our solution to that and really highlighting the east end and all of the new businesses that we’re welcoming on that end.”
One of the goals, Jeffries explained, is to showcase an area downtown that is often neglected for public events in favor of spaces at the west end like Allen and Fraser streets.
DSCID is partnering with Comet Properties, which owns multiple buildings in the area of the pop-up park, and has garnered support over the past year and a half of planning from businesses. In addition to The Press CIder and Craft Beverage Taphouse and Manny’s Live Performance Space, which have opened in the last 15 months on Hiester Street, Brooklyn Bodega and Kung Fu Noodle are opening this year just around the corner on College Avenue. The nearby blocks of Calder Way have also become thriving centers for food and beverage businesses.
The target audience for “East End Social,” Jeffries said, is “everyone,” but more specifically it is a response to feedback from non-student adults and families who say they “don’t fully feel welcome or connected to their downtown.”
“We’re constantly getting feedback from the community that we need an adult space downtown, and we want things to do over the summer where adults can gather,” Jeffries said.
WHAT IT WILL INCLUDE
The block will have water barriers and traffic control signage to prevent vehicular access, and organizers have talked with Alpha Fire Company about emergency response plans, said Erica Quinn, who is consulting with DSCID on the project and who has experience with outdoor downtown street events through her time as director of 3 Dots.
Tables, chairs, benches and planters will adorn the grounds, with a stage set up at the Calder Way end.
“It will be sturdy, and it will be up for the summer, but then able to be stored in the off-season,” Quinn said. “So nothing will be permanently affixed to the asphalt or to any of the public space.”
A “rotating community calendar” will organize activities in the space, and Quinn said a number of local businesses, community groups and organizations like the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts “are really interested in utilizing this space and thinking of it as another area of downtown to activate this summer.”
Organizers anticipate having food trucks on site for events, and the open container ordinance waiver will be used in particular for a “Summer Happy Hour Series” with select local craft beverage producers that are members of the Central PA Tasting Trail from 5 to 8 p.m. on dates to be determined.
“There’ll be a handful of those that we’re planning throughout the summer season,” Quinn said. “It is not every day. I think that would be terrible for everyone.”
The waiver comes with a series of requirements for cordoning off the area selling alcoholic beverages and ensuring safe service. DSCID is the responsible party, and council member Kevin Kassab noted that the organization has operated many events with alcohol service and had no problems.
Quinn said that organizers will be working to have regular programming throughout the summer, with performances and activities that “represent a really diverse and interesting swath of folks in the community.”
“So it’s not just what we think, what our personal taste is, but it’s really saying we want different parts of the community to have ownership over a new public space,” Quinn said.
Jeffries added that when no events are happening, it will still be open for the community to sit and enjoy.
“People can just go grab a picnic table anytime they want throughout the day,” Jeffries said. “So, we really want to keep it open and and take community’s feedback on what they’d like to see in the space.”
DSCID’s government partner for the pop-up park is the State College Redevelopment Authority, which in December was awarded a $76,753 grant for the project from state Local Share Account program administered by the Commonwealth Financing Authority. Jeffries said they are continuing to seek additional funding support to bolster programming, and are working with the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County and Happy Valley Adventure Bureau on ways the organizations might be able to contribute.
Comet Properties will maintain the plantings, and DSCID’s Clean Team will be responsible for daily cleaning
The borough is providing in-kind support through set-up and removal of barriers, access to power sources, traffic signage and refuse and recycling assistance.
Council members were enthusiastic about the project.
“I’ve been a big proponent of the Allen Street move, and I think that this is a precursor to a bunch of different streets, because I think that’s possible,” Council President Evan Myers said. “I think that this helps create more public space, makes downtown a destination. It allows us also to compete with some areas outside of State College. It helps promoting the community… I think there are other spots this would work as well in State College, downtown. So at least we’re getting started.”
Council member Gopal Balachandran also viewed it as a welcome starting point.
“This just does remind me of all of the struggles and the effort to try and get the Allen Street Promenade off the ground,” Balachandran said. “This feels like it’s one step in that direction to be able to fulfill that vision. So I’m very excited,”
Council member John Hayes said he is happy to see more pedestrian uses for downtown streets.
“I think we get confused sometimes in our society on the difference between streets and roads,” Hayes said “Roads are for cars and streets are for people. And so I think really reinforcing that, that streets are for people, is exactly the kind of activity we need to see. And I hope this is so successful that next year we do even more.”
