“The secret weapon for downtown revitalization is having residents doing the things they do as residents,” he said. “That makes people feel comfortable about coming downtown.”

Whalen, president of Public Interest Projects Inc. of Asheville, was the keynote speaker Thursday night at Lancaster County Planning Commission’s kickoff celebration for “Envision Lancaster County,” the county’s revised comprehensive plan.

In recent years, Asheville has been rated by newspapers and magazines as one of the best places in the country in which to live or invest in real estate.

Twenty years ago, Whalen said, people would have laughed at anyone predicting Asheville would become a “hot” destination.

“The motto in Asheville for decades was, ‘That will never work here. Don’t even try,’!\p” he said.

Like a lot of small cities, Asheville had a bustling downtown through the 1950s, before new roads and development outside the city began drawing people and businesses away.

By the early 1980s, Whalen said, Asheville’s downtown “was dead as a doornail.”

Several projects aimed at revitalizating the city were taken on in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but almost all involved businesses.

“We had these beautiful storefronts, but the problem was, the downtown wasn’t a good place to live,” he said.

Whalen credited Asheville’s elected officials with insisting the city’s public buildings remain downtown and building a series of parking garages — both of which were unpopular with city residents.

“The people who made those decisions were voted out of office, but we wouldn’t be where we are today without the things they accomplished,” Whalen said.

In the mid-1990s, Public Interest Projects bought the former Asheville Hotel and converted it into 29 condominiums with a bookstore, restaurant and cafe on the street level.

“They were all leased before we were done renovating them,” Whalen said.

Interest in living in downtown Asheville has been growing ever since.

In 1990, there were seven residential projects under way in the city. Last year, there were 27 projects in the works.

At the same time, Whalen said, businesses such as restaurants, retail shops and entertainment venues are cropping up all over.

“When you have people living downtown, you attract people to the downtown,” he said.

Whalen said he sees opportunities for Lancaster’s downtown similar to what occurred in Asheville.

“Your situation is a bit different because your downtown never totally died like Asheville’s,” he said. “But the possibilities are there.”

James Cowhey, executive director of the county planning commission, pointed out that many of the goals of Envision Lancaster County are geared toward making the county’s urban centers more livable.

“I think the city and our boroughs are going to be the place to be within the next 10 years,” he said.

Envision looks 25 years into future at housing, growth management and “cultural heritage.” Officials plan to meet in the coming months to discuss ways to implement its goals.

As part of Thursday’s event, the planning commission gave “smart growth” awards to four projects that strive to reduce urban sprawl and demonstrate effective use of land, natural resources and infrastructure.

Recognized were:

• Manor Heights development, by David Miller Associates and Ingerman Group.

This 109-unit, mixed-income residential community occupies 22 acres in Manor Township and features owner-occupied townhouses and rental townhouses and apartments. It also has a community center and other recreation facilities.

• Columbia Borough’s River Park master plan, completed by a volunteer committee.

The plan calls for revamping 4.1 acres along the Susquehanna River to provide facilities for boating, fishing, hiking and passive recreation.

• Living Hope Community Church’s adaptive reuse of the former Martin Chicken Hatchery on Columbia Avenue.

The East Hempfield Township hatchery, which had been vacant for 10 years, is the church’s new home.

• Lancaster Area Sewer Authority’s regional plan.

The plan encourages urban development and accommodates suburban growth while discouraging development in agricultural areas in the authority’s seven participating municipalities — East and West Hempfield!\q, Manor, Lancaster and Manheim townships and East Petersburg and Mountville boroughs.


P.J. Reilly’s e-mail address is preilly@lnpnews.com. blog comments powered by Disqus