Borough Residents Invited to Provide Input
into Collegeville’s Main Street Plan
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. in Schellhase Commons on the Ursinus Campus. You can also attend via Zoom.
In March of last year, Collegeville Borough, in partnership with Ursinus College, was awarded a $74,000 Local Share Account planning grant from the PA Dept. of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to develop a Main Street Master Plan. The grant covers the cost of planning, consulting, and design.
This plan will act as a road map in revitalizing our Main Street, with particular emphasis on the 400 block. The grant has allowed the Borough to hire Mark Evans, Director of Planning for Derck & Edson, at no cost to taxpayers. Mark is an accomplished architect of both building and landscape design.
The draft plan to date emphasizes the importance of preserving the character of the historic architecture along Main Street while promoting the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. We hope to welcome more restaurants and retail on the first floors of buildings and to create apartments and offices on the upper floors. The borough also envisions creating a “town square” meeting and event space. The plan will contain:
- A Vision for Main Street to highlight our community’s assets, annual events, historic architecture, our walkable community and our vision for the future. These elements will guide what capital improvements and zoning changes we seek and what types of private investment could be available for Collegeville’s Main Street District
- A Transportation and Streetscape Plan—This section will illustrate what infrastructure improvements are needed for Main Street and adjoining streets, alleys, sidewalks, and trails and what they will look like. This section will also highlight the types of lighting, outdoor furniture and site improvements recommended along with cost estimates. And in order to apply for grant funding, this section will also contain our vision for future capital improvements.
- Civic Space Recommendations—This section will illustrate the type of civic space needed for Collegeville’s town green or community gathering space. It will also identify potential partners to implement the plan and cost estimates of proposed improvements.
- Design and Zoning Recommendations—This section of the plan will highlight the key policies and design standards recommended along with zoning for the new Main Street Commercial (MSC) District.
- Main Street Redevelopment Potential—Based upon the desired vision and preferred community character for the 400 block of Collegeville’s Main Street, this section of the plan will illustrate the potential transformation of two illustrative buildings. Included will be the recommended scale of the buildings, character of the streetscape improvements, preservation of key building features and desired outcomes of the Main Street Revitalization Master Plan for Collegeville.
- Implementation Plan—This section of the plan will identify those organizations likely to champion each project, the anticipated priority of the projects and timelines. It will include cost estimates and implementation strategies for the recommended public infrastructure improvements and subsequent planning studies needed. These recommendations will also identify grants and other public funding sources to assist in the implementation of the plans.
A Steering Committee, made up of key Main Street stakeholders, including building and business owners, potential developers, investors, and representatives of Ursinus College and the Borough, is now completing the review of initial design elements for our Main Street plan. These design elements include determining building height and setbacks, streetscapes, including wide sidewalks, green verges, space for outdoor dining, street trees and plantings, traffic calming recommendations, connected parking lots behind buildings, a connection to the Perkiomen Trail and other features. We would now like to share these plan concepts with the Ursinus College community, building and business owners, and Collegeville residents in a series of meetings during March, 2023. The purpose of the meetings is to seek input and feedback concerning everyone’s ideas for our Main Street.
The first meeting for all interested building, business owners and residents will be held on March 20th at 6:30 p.m. in Schellhase Commons on the Ursinus campus. You can also attend via Zoom.
Once everyone’s input is added to the Main Street draft plan, the revised plan will be reviewed by the Borough’s Planning Commission and Council. We will then hold a final presentation of the plan for everyone in the Borough. The final plan will also be available on the borough’s website, and through newsletters and social media platforms. It is expected that the final plan will be available this Spring.
