8C — January 26 - February 8, 2018 — Economic Development — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
C umberland C ounty P ennsylvania
By Jonathan Bowser, CAEDC Cumberland County Pennsylvania’s Strategy for Revitalization and Reuse
C
ommunities across the country continue to look for ways to remain
competitive in this ever- c h a n g i n g economy. As part of that process, com- munities are establishing, implement- ing and ex-
Jonathan Bowser
ecuting on strategies for revi- talization and reuse of sites, corridors, districts, and com- munities. While communities have different challenges as it relates to economic growth, housing, blight, and redevel- opment, I have noticed some commonalities as it relates to strategies to promote redevel- opment and building reuse. In recent years, the Urban Land Institute has conducted case studies in major cities to identify challenges, barriers, and solutions to redevelop- ment and reuse and has imple- mented standard strategies to address these issues. The results of interviews through these case studies identified the following major barriers to redevelopment and reuse: zon- ing, parking, financing, and codes. Cumberland County Pennsylvania and our 33 mu- nicipalities are not immune to these same challenges as it relates to redevelopment. Throughout the county, Cum- berland Area Economic Devel- opment Corporation (CAEDC) and the Real Estate Collabora- tive (subsidiary of CAEDC for real estate development) have been working with communi- ties to find ways to achieve their development goals and seek opportunities to encour- age this type of development. CAEDC is focused on so- lutions to remove the four major barriers to revitaliza- tion and reuse to continue to grow Cumberland County, the fastest growing county in the state. While zoning is a major barrier, it can also create an opportunity to align a commu- nity’s goals to promote econom- ic growth and walkable and sustainable communities. Ex- amples of how this can be done include creating new zone dis- tricts that allow a greater mix of uses and reduce the need for variances and changes. Sec- ondly, form-based zoning that recognizes the diverse contexts and building patterns in a
community. Thirdly, reduce or eliminate non-conforming provisions to encourage invest-
with redevelopment efforts. That is why it is important that communities consider the
CAEDC is focused on solutions to remove the four major barriers to revitalization and reuse to continue to grow Cumberland County, the fastest growing county in the state.
ment in properties constructed prior to zoning codes. As a developer, proper zoning that encourages smart development while meeting the community’s needs is a win-win scenario for both the community and the developer. In the redevelopment of any site, parking is typically a major challenge. Solutions to parking barriers include: shared and off-site parking, parking maximums, eliminat- ing minimum parking require- ments, and providing exemp- tions for older buildings. Many new zoning requirements also include the need for unneces- sary parking stipulations, which can be problematic in the redevelopment of a site, especially in an urban envi- ronment. Parking needs to be addressed and accounted for, but can be excessive and derail a project if not properly vetted. The financing barrier of older buildings for adaptive reuse or redevelopment is extremely challenging for several reasons. Challenges include environmental, demo- lition, market valuation, and other negative costs associated
following to assist developers in these efforts including: tax incentives (Local Economic Revitalization Abatement – LERTA, Tax Incremental Financing, New Market Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits) and gap or community based grants and/or revolving loan programs. These financing incentives will assist to realign project costs with the market demand to make a project feasible. The last significant barrier for redevelopment is codes. For a community to truly ex- perience success in adaptive reuse and/or redevelopment they must adopt a flexible approach to codes and provide technical assistance to help developers navigate complex regulatory environments. This will allow for the de- velopment of older buildings and underutilized sites. The report suggested the following solutions that are applicable to our community: new code for rehabilitation and reuse, create flexibility in the exist- ing code, and provide coordi- nated technical assistance. As it relates to code reform,
I think the common themes are flexibility and technical assistance. These two themes reduce development costs and time, which are most impor- tant to a developer. Imple- menting these items usually costs a community nothing but serves as a non-monetary incentive to promote redevel- opment. From our experience, the best way for a community to achieve success in rede- velopment is to find a way to shorten the development process and look for ways to incentivize development with older and underutilized sites. For developers, time is money, and many will look to work in communities that provide a very clear path to achieve development goals. The solutions mentioned provide an initial roadmap in how to do so in a way that cre- ates vibrant, walkable, and sustainable communities. To learn more about these strategies for revitalization and reuse, please visit sav- ingplaces.org/green-lab. CAEDC is always looking
for ways to streamline the process for developers and make it easier to do redevelop- ment business in Cumberland County PA. Through these initiatives, CAEDC created the Real Estate Collaborative (REC) as a subsidiary for the purposes of developing and managing select mixed use, office, medical, industrial, tourism and land develop- ment projects REC’s typical projects in- clude: underutilized, vacant, or brownfield commercial or industrial sites, public build- ings, and tourism-related assets that will significantly increase visitation to the des- tination. In addition, the REC focuses on sites to develop for workforce housing and business attraction in indus- tries targeted in Cumberland County’s and CAEDC’s Com- prehensive Plan for Economic Development. Learn more about CAEDC, the Real Estate Collaborative and current projects at Cum- berlandBusiness.com/REC. Jonathan Bowser is CEO of CAEDC. n
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