Collegeville Borough has extended an invitation to the public to provide comments to a draft plan for the 400 block of Collegeville’s Main Street. The plan will act as a road map in revitalizing our Main Street. You are invited to attend in-person or via Zoom.
- When: Wednesday, March 20, at 6:30 p.m.
- Where: Olin Hall on the Ursinus campus (map it)
- Registration is Required: Zoom attendees must register to receive a link
- Post Meeting Slides: Slides will be available after the meeting on the Borough’s website.
- Email: You are welcome to e-mail your ideas, thoughts and comments to Collegeville Borough at any time.
Overview of the Process
The draft plan being presented emphasizes the importance of preserving the character of the historic architecture along Main Street, while promoting the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. The Borough hopes to welcome more restaurants and retail on the first floors of buildings and to create apartments and offices on the upper floors.
Once everyone’s input is added to the Main Street draft plan, the plan will be reviewed by the Borough’s Planning Commission for any changes to the zoning, and then sent to the Borough Council for their review and approval.
The Borough will then schedule a final presentation of the plan for everyone in the Borough. The final plan will also be available on the borough’s website, and disseminated through newsletters and social media platforms. It is expected that the final plan will be available late this Spring.
History of the Plan
The Business Development Committee
In 2018 the Collegeville Borough Council formed the Business Development Committee (BDC), comprised of over 20 business owners, Council members, Ursinus College folks and interested residents. The group met monthly. They shared articles about other towns’ Main Streets and heard from guest speakers about how their Main Streets were developed, what worked and what did not. Among their Main Street experts were Gene Krak, Manager of Phoenixville Borough and Mark Evans from Derck & Edson, who discussed Principles for Planning our Main Street.
BDC Committee members analyzed the positive attributes of our Main Street (a College town with a trail crossing our Main Street and disparate and colorful architectural styles) and discussed how Collegeville could best position itself to develop a unique Main Street distinctive from nearby towns.
The BDC also discussed the types of businesses to attract and researched how to create more parking.
Ursinus Student Input
Ursinus students from Entrepreneur-in-Residence Maureen Cumpstone’s U-Imagine course assisted the BDC one semester by extensively studying other liberal arts College towns to learn what made them successful. Their data showed the importance of having anchor stores or popular gathering spaces, the significance of commercial density and mom and pop independent businesses, excellent walkability, opportunities for an active nightlife and regular community events to draw people downtown. View the U-Imagine students Collegeville Borough report.
Paying for it
The BDC also learned that crucial Main Street infrastructure such as parking, lighting, and stormwater management can cost millions of dollars. So in 2021 and 2022, the Borough and College applied for and received a total of $3 million in state revitalization, or RACP grants.
The Borough and Ursinus College continue to apply for additional grants every year. In 2023 the Borough applied for another $2 million. The grants need to be matched by other funding sources or developers, and can be used over a 10-year period. Once opened, new businesses will add to the Borough’s tax base.
Updating the Borough’s Main Street Zoning
To attract developers, particularly on the 5th Ave. and Main Street corners, the Borough’s Planning Commission created a special “College Gateway Overlay District,” where buildings could be a bit denser and higher, similar to the Ursinus campus. That approved zoning is available on the Borough of Collegeville website.
The Borough’s Planning Commission then updated zoning for our Main Street from 2nd to 5th Avenues. That zoning is currently in draft form and has not yet been approved while the Borough gathers comments from building owners, businesses, area residents and others. Concepts will be presented at the March 20 public meeting to illustrate how the new zoning will affect our Main Street. The proposed Main Street District (MSD) zoning ordinance is available on the Borough of Collegeville website.
Discarded Ideas
Along the way, some initial ideas were discarded.
When the Borough and College first started working on a Main Street plan, they thought they would begin by renovating Borough Hall to provide space for community meetings and co-working space. And for a long time, they thought that by bringing in a developer to build a new building on the 5th Ave. corner where the Marzella building (map it) and Tait house currently stand could jumpstart our Main Street. By building a new mixed-use building (restaurants and retail on the first floor, apartments above) on the corner, it would attract other developers to the rest of the 400 block. However, now these early initiatives have been discarded in favor of immediate development of six College-owned buildings on the 400 block.
Focus of the Current Main Street Plan
While Phoenixville caters to the evening crowd of young Gen Zs and Millennials, and Skippack to older area residents, the Borough and College see our Main St. as “family friendly”: Appealing to adults, students, and children of all ages—which is in line with the demographics of our residents. We would like to have something for people of all ages and abilities to do, all of the time, and a Main Street for all to enjoy.
Current priority plans are to develop the College-owned properties at 424-426 E. Main St. (left, map it) and 444 E. Main St. (map it) (the three houses used as dormitories between Sabre’s Jewelry and Chow! Bistro); Vince Raffeo’s former buildings now owned by the College from 450 to 468 E. Main St. (map it) (Sunshine Nails to the Benjamin Moore Paint Store excluding Schrader’s Service Station) and 476 E. Main St. (below, map it) (where the CEDC’s offices are located.)
Another priority of the plan is to have sufficient parking for the new businesses at these properties. The College and Borough have developed a plan to increase parking behind the College-owned properties. These parking plans will be presented at the March 20th meeting.
Your Input
Although the Borough and College have put a lot of time and work into envisioning our town’s Main Street, it is most important that it be a Main Street for all to enjoy. This is why the Borough and College needs everyone’s input! Please weigh in with your thoughts, either at the March 20 meeting or by commenting on the plans via the Borough’ email.
