Dozens of people in Carlisle, Cumberland County, gathered Monday night as the borough earnestly began the process of putting together its plan to revitalize much of the borough, including areas dominated by abandoned factories and rundown buildings.
“This whole study was prompted several years ago by the fact that we started losing our industrial base,” said Perry Heath, president of the Carlisle Borough Council.
The firm Stromberg/Garrigan and Associates is drafting the plan with the goal of presenting final recommendations by June.
“The owners of these properties are going to develop them because the longer they sit on them, the greater their investment becomes. So, we want to make sure we can compliment what the owners of the properties are doing. So, we’ve asked for this process to be expedited,” said Heath.
You can read more about the planning process by clicking here.
The International Automotive Components property between Fairground Avenue and Carlisle Springs Road, the old Carlisle Tire and Wheel site between A and D streets, and the Tyco Electronics building on Hamilton Street are among the industrial sites sitting empty in the area that’s the focus of the study. The planners are looking mainly at the northwest quadrant of the borough and downtown.
As the businesses closed in recent years, they left more than 600 workers jobless. Part of the revitalization effort is to bring jobs back into the borough in varied ways.
Borough leaders have already re-zoned the area as mixed use, allowing for commercial and real estate development.
Carlisle Events has been at work since late spring demolishing the IAC property after a massive fire gutted much of it May. The company plans to build a hotel and small conference center on the site as part of phase one of redeveloping it. Developers also aim to attract restaurants.
Officials with the planning firm say the company which owns the Tire and Wheel site aims to transform it as well but does not have concrete plans. The Tyco property is up for sale.
Stromberg/Garrigan and Associates will host day-long workshops March 11-14 on specific subjects like transportation and real estate. Those workshops are open to the public to give input. A more specific schedule will be released.