CLEARFIELD – A multi-level parking garage? Luxury and senior housing? Perhaps commercial properties?
These are questions to which there are not any answers – yet – for Clearfield Borough.
The council gave approval to formally retain the services of Robert P. Yoder Sr. and his firm, Impact Pennsylvania Inc. to act as Clearfield Borough’s consultant and developer in regard to projects inside the borough.
Just what that will mean is yet to be determined, but communities who have enlisted Yoder’s services have seen varied developments from apartments to retail space and even transportation hubs.
Yoder met with the council during a special meeting Tuesday, and said, according to Solicitor F. Cortez “Chip” Bell III, that he had some ideas to develop within Clearfield Borough.
Bell was not at liberty to discuss specific areas or properties under discussion for the proposed project.
“If we were to release the name of areas, I’m concerned the price would increase,” Bell said.
The council is permitted to consider the purchase or lease of real property up to the time an option to purchase or lease the property is obtained, according to the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act. An executive session can also be held regarding real estate up to the time an agreement to purchase or lease the property is obtained if the agreement is obtained without an option agreement. The council members said the possibility of land acquisition was the only matter discussed in the executive session.
Yoder is working with the communities of St. Marys, Meadville and Warren on similar projects. Those efforts can be viewed through his Web site.
Projects include Breeze Point Landing in Warren, a $50 million riverfront development effort that entails an elderly housing unit, apartments, office and commercial space, and a parking garage. Later plans call for a bus hub, an amphitheater, trails and bike paths, a conference center with and a hotel.
Meadville’s project entails a parking garage, a hotel, retail shops and housing.
In St. Marys, senior housing is part of the plan, as well as a transportation hub/parking garage, green space and areas for business development. The total price tag for the Elk County project is estimated at $35 million.
“It could mean massive development for Clearfield Borough if this guy’s vision is correct and successful,” said Bell following Thursday’s meeting.
Bell added that it could pull new business into the area as well as new activities. It could also spur what he called a “major influx” of private development into the borough, he said.
While the borough entered the contract Thursday, the $40,000 retainer fee requested by Yoder is still under negotiation, Bell said. Municipalities are not required to bid professional services such as developers, attorneys and engineers.
To fund the contract, Yoder and the borough will look into grant funding and even private sources of money. Community Development Block Grant capital, however, would not be able to be used for such projects, Bell said.
“This would not qualify.”
The fees paid to Yoder could be made through grant monies if they are secured for the project. But, Bell said, the goal is to get private investors involved because doing so will keep the properties on the tax rolls.
“The prime goal is to get new development going and new buildings going and new projects going.”
If the project is funded in part by public funds, such as grants, there would be an authority with at least one arm that is public. This means that public meetings will be held to discuss progress in any developments.
Bell said the structure of any authority will not be known until later in planning, but the set-up could be much like the Clearfield County Economic Development Corp. and the Clearfield County Industrial Development Authority, respectively, the public and private entities charged with promoting the county’s assets to business and industry.
As of late, Clearfield Borough has seen major strides in development from BioEnergy International LLC’s Bionol Clearfield set to build in the Clearfield Technology Park to Rite-Aid planning construction near Bridge Street. Bell said there are plenty of areas still ripe for Yoder’s services.
The council’s motion to enlist the services of Yoder included a note that the specific areas of development and the scope of the work would take into consideration the borough’s long-range plans and the recent financial study of the borough.