Bellefonte Borough Council on Monday took actions to advance two high-profile projects, with construction for both now expected to begin in the coming months.
Council unanimously authorized opening an invitation to bid for construction of the Stage at Talleyrand, an outdoor performing arts venue planned for the Talleyrand Park Annex.
A developer for the long-anticipated Bellefonte Waterfront project, meanwhile, said his team is “going to be accepting bids here real soon,” for the development that will include a hotel in one building and parking, retail and condominiums in another.
Asked by Council President Doug Johnson if he expected construction to get underway in August, Bellefonte Waterfront developer Tom Songer replied, “that’s what we would be shooting for.”
The project on the vacant former site of the Bush Hotel across from Talleyrand Park has been beset by delays since it was first proposed in 2018 by Songer and hotel partner Mark Morath.
One 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.”
The second building will have 268 parking spaces on three levels, retail space and condominiums.
The property will have 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.
Construction on the hotel and parking garage will occur at the same time, with projected completion in 12 to 14 months. Once the parking garage is completed, construction of the condos on top of it will begin.
Songer said on Monday that he has interest from several tenants for the retail space, including “a local grocer thinking about an indoor farmers market, perhaps.” He added that Big Spring Spirits “is interested in moving their retail operation over to the Waterfront” and a jeweler also has expressed interest in a space there.
His remarks came before council voted 8-1 to approve a plan that will dedicate Dunlop Street as a public borough street. The Waterfront project received $1.5 million in federal funding for reconstruction of Dunlop Street as a two-way through-street, but the funding requires that it be a public right of way.
Part of the area that will become the through-street was privately owned by adjacent property owners.
The reconstruction will also include a mid-block crossing and 30 on-street parking spaces. As part of the agreement, the borough will convey parking revenue from the spaces to the Waterfront owners for five years, and the Waterfront owners will be responsible for street maintenance.
Council member Joanne Tosti-Vasey voted against the plan. She said she was concerned that a brick sidewalk along the mill race side does not extend through the area next to the parking spaces, creating potential safety issues for pedestrians crossing outside the established crosswalks
“The plan was not to have a brick paved or brick sidewalk along those 30 spaces,” Songer said. “We thought we want to encourage people to be on the other side of Dunlop Street and walk on the proposed paver sidewalk that parallels the parking garage and the hotel, and goes up and ties into High Street, which also ties in with the promenade which is on the Spring Creek side of the project.”
Johnson said he is looking forward to seeing the project get started.
“We are very excited about this project moving forward,” Johnson said. “We’re hoping that this is one of the last bridges we have to cross before you get that shovel in the ground. It’s been a long road for you, and a lot of hope for us in the borough of Bellefonte. It’s a great project. We’re all really excited about getting this going.”
Stage at Talleyrand
The timeline for the Stage at Talleyrand is more defined.
With council authorizing the invitation to bid, Borough Manager David Pribulka said he anticipates a July 10 deadline to receive contractor bids. Council then will vote on awarding the bid at a July meeting, and construction will commence soon after.
The open-air performing arts facility in the west end of the borough’s Talleyrand Park has been spearheaded by an all-volunteer committee. The project is funded by a $1 million state grant and has received more than $500,000 in donations to date. The fundraising will include a maintenance fund for long-term upkeep of the venue.
A final land development plan conditionally approved by council in March includes a 2,000-square-foot stage, two new pedestrian paths and reconstruction of the small borough parking lot next to Pelican’s SnoBalls on Water Street.
A permanent plan for public restrooms required under borough ordinance has not been finalized, but according to minutes from an April 29 Parks and Recreation Committee meeting, Centre Region Code Enforcement said if portable toilets are used, a temporary certificate of occupancy can be issued for up to five years.
The Stage at Talleyrand has been developed with the goal of providing a venue designed with acoustics in mind for concerts, performances, family-friendly programming and more.
