Canonsburg plans to revitalize business district
Canonsburg Borough Council envisions revitalizing the business district on West Pike Street to allow second- and third-story housing. Council started working on the rezoning ordinances and would like to offer incentives to the owners of historic buildings on its main street to encourage growth.
The Colaizzo building is one of the structures Canonsburg Borough Council would offer an incentive to invest money into as part of a revitalization project.
The Morgan building is one of the structures Canonsburg Borough Council would offer an incentive to invest money into as part of a revitalization project.
Canonsburg is fortunate to have “two downtowns,” according to borough manager Bob Kipp. Cavasina Drive is lined with fast-food restaurants and will soon be home to a Dunkin’ Donuts, which is replacing the former Long John Silver’s restaurant.
The commercial corridor on Pike Street features more locally owned niche businesses like antique shops and, for the more daring, body piercing and tattoo parlors.
But borough officials are also quick to point out the many empty storefronts and unused upper floors in historic buildings. They hope to revitalize the area by rewriting the zoning ordinance and offering incentives to property owners who may want to start a business or invest in rental units.
The current zoning ordinance does not permit residential development on the second and third floors of buildings in the commercial district.
Kipp said that would be permitted in the new ordinance, which may also include incentives like tax increment financing to subsidize redevelopment. The borough recently awarded a contract to Mackin Engineering Co. to redo its zoning and subdivision ordinances at a cost of $39,625, which is currently in the early stages of development.
Kipp said many property owners are open to the idea of redeveloping their buildings, but need some extra help to get started.
“The issue is getting the owners to reinvest into them,” Kipp said. “If we can provide some incentives so that somebody could rent out the second and third floors for studio apartments or an artist’s loft or condos for young professionals, then they would be able to bring in more income and reinvest in more properties.”
Rich Russo, vice president of council, said one of the top priorities is to get first-floor occupancy in some of the vacant buildings on Pike Street. But second- and third-floor residences would be “the icing on the cake.”
“There’s a second-level usage that I don’t know if we’re getting the best bang for the buck right now,” Russo said.
Kipp, who is also the zoning officer, said it’s the perfect time to focus on residential development because he is seeing an influx of young families and first-time homeowners who are purchasing properties in Canonsburg. He said officials also have plans to turn the east end of Canonsburg, near Sarris Candies, into a “transition zone” to encourage more businesses to set up shop while also preserving the character of the area.
Canon-McMillan School District is moving forward with its plan to construct a new middle school, and three developers have already expressed an interest in turning the current middle school building on East College Street into condominiums.
Meanwhile, on the south side of town along Murdock Street, developers want to build upscale townhouses that would be priced around $200,000.
Kipp said this level of residential development would increase the borough’s tax base and also increase traffic at local businesses.
Canonsburg Council is looking at other ways to boost business, as well. Council voted unanimously this week to change the parking meters so that a quarter will reserve one’s spot for an hour instead of the current half-hour limit.
Adjusting the borough’s 191 meters will cost $43 per meter, or a total cost of $8,213.
Canonsburg Mayor Dave Rhome said it is too early to tell if the borough will end up losing revenue from the policy, or if the reduced cost will attract more business and have the opposite effect. He is hoping for the latter.
“This is also an opportunity for the commercial district to improve their businesses because they’re going to be attracting additional revenue,” Rhome said.
Russo said the issue of vacant buildings is not a new one, but he sees the potential for Canonsburg to revive its business district and reinvent itself.
“Personally, I think the configuration of what we do downtown needs to change,” he said. “There are too many retail box stores out on the highways and in the strip plazas that we can’t compete with, so we need to find niche businesses, whether they be antique shops, quaint book stores, or even green spaces might be an answer to some of our problems.”
Kipp encouraged the business community to provide input during meetings to discuss the zoning ordinance, which will be held quarterly.