CLEARFIELD – The progress of the Clearfield County Economic Development Corp.’s (CCEDC) riverfront development project will soon become visible to area residents, according to Rob Swales, CCEDC chief executive officer.
The riverfront project will connect the Market and Nichols Street Bridges with a one-mile loop. Its development will occur over three phases with residents seeing progress, beginning in November and December and continuing into 2015.
The first phase, Swales said, will be the development of Market Square. This site, he said, will house a large, two-story structure with potential of being up to 10,000 square feet per floor, depending on costs, attracting a private developer and anchor tenant.
Swales hopes that the structure will house a “family-style” brewpub/restaurant on the first floor with outdoor seating and view of the river. Other storefront opportunities may also be available on the first floor, he said.
He said the second floor will have multi-tenant spaces for professional offices with common areas, such as a conference room, restroom, kitchen area, etc. Other space, he said, will be intentionally designated for special events, trainings, receptions, reunions, etc.
“It will all overlook Lower Witmer Park and the riverfront,” said Swales. The special events area, he added, will even have a balcony and outdoor seating that overlook the Susquehanna River.
The second phase, he said, will consist of the actual development of the river walk and public park. He explained that this portion of the riverfront project will go out for bid in late December, and the CCEDC will “piggyback” the timing of its solicitation with that of Clearfield Borough’s streetscape project.
“That way we can both get very competitive bids,” said Swales. “One of these is a big project, but we have two going on at the same time. We should really be able to attract some competitive bids to maximize everyone’s project costs.”
Construction of the river walk and public park will get under way in the spring. It will have terrace seating for fishing and or observation, as well as areas to put in canoes, paddle boats and kayaks, he said.
According to him, the CCEDC has plans to preserve a building already on-site with the opportunity to attract an outfitter to have seasonal canoe, paddle boat and kayak rentals along the river. “We want this to be an active park with recreational opportunities,” he said.
Swales said that the stretch from the public park to the phase three Market Street Bridge site will be all new construction. Also, he said that the river walk will be 10 feet wide and so it will be available for both pedestrian and bicycle use.
At the phase three site, he said the CCEDC would like to attract a developer for a small, boutique-style hotel. He visualizes a hotel offering 30 – 50 rooms, on-site parking and an indoor swimming pool, which would meet existing zoning and code requirements.
The CCEDC, he said, conducted a feasibility study, which is very positive and supportive of the riverfront and hotel project. He said they will be meeting with developers to see who would be interested in spearheading and owning the small hotel.
“This can’t be a jack-of-all-trades,” said Swales. “It can’t have hotel rooms, swimming areas, conference space, restaurant space, etc. all crammed into one space. It’s going to have to concentrate on one or two things with that being a hotel with indoor water amenities to attract a larger audience.”
This approach, he said, will also allow the CCEDC to focus other aspects of the riverfront project on amenities that the hotel will not offer, such as a restaurant and meeting, conference and special event space.
Hotel guests will look out their windows and see the river, park areas and the Market Square. “It will be a perfect tie-in. They will be looking out and seeing outdoor seating, outdoor activities and a place to eat,” he said.
All three sites of the riverfront project, said Swales, will be connected by roadways, sidewalks and water access.