Collegeville Revitalization Notebook, September 2023

Master Planning Steering Committee Holds First Meeting 

On Aug. 31, the Main Street Revitalization Steering Committee met for the first time in Borough Hall to begin providing input for the Borough’s Main Street Master Plan. The session was led by Mark Evans, Director of Planning from Derck & Edson. Also attending were the planners and transportation experts of the Montgomery County Planning Commission. The funding for the Main Street plan is being provided by a $74,000 DCED Local Share Account grant.

This meeting is the first of a series of meetings which will continue until the Spring of 2024. Future meetings will include not only the Steering Committee, but also Main Street building and business owners, Borough residents and members of Ursinus College. Everyone who has an interest in Collegeville’s Main Street will be welcome to weigh in.

Prior to the meeting, Mark led members of the group on a walking tour of the 400 block of Main Street, starting at Borough Hall and ending at Fourth Ave. During the tour, Mark pointed out opportunity sites, which are properties best suited for rehabilitation and reuse, along with areas for enhanced pedestrian connectivity and parking access.

Review of the Project Goals, Study Area, and Major Tasks

Mark clarified for the Steering Committee that the goal of the Main Street Revitalization Project as a whole is to create a vibrant, walkable Main Street district from Second to Fifth Avenues. It is hoped that Collegeville’s Main Street will become a destination for unique businesses, restaurants, and cafes both for our community and for our area residents.

For the Main Street revitalization, the Borough is seeking to promote the adaptive reuse of existing buildings, while preserving the character of our historic architecture along Main Street. Additionally, over time, the Borough and Ursinus College hope to create a shared civic space, additional parking, and a beautiful and walkable streetscape. Although our goal is the revitalization of the entire street, this plan is focused specifically on the 400 block of Main Street, which requires the most work.

Review of the Existing Main Street Documents and Conditions 

Past work and recommendations by the Montgomery County Planning Commission and the Borough relating to Main Street were quickly reviewed at the meeting. They include:

• The Borough’s 2006 Open Space Plan, the 2014 Central Perkiomen Comprehensive Plan, and the 2010 Collegeville Revitalization Plan;
• The street design standards from the borough’s Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance; and
• The borough’s new proposed Main Street Commercial (MSC) zoning, the new College Gateway Overlay zoning, and the recently updated parking ordinance.

The Committee also reviewed 5- and 10-minute walk sheds along Main Street (the distance that can be covered in 5 or 10 minutes at a normal walking pace); existing and potential connections to our Main Street from the Perkiomen Trail; and the varying condition of the Main Street sidewalks.

Also noted was that the setbacks—how far back buildings are set from the street—vary widely on the 400 block. While Marzella’s facade is flush with the sidewalk, the College dorms next to Sabre’s Jewelry have large front yards. One way to make the street look more uniform is for buildings to be “moved forward visually” by incorporating patios, additions and/or landscaping into the fronts of the buildings.

Providing Parking for the 400 Block

Mark explained to the Committee that the Borough’s Montco Planner, Naomi Crimm, performed a comprehensive Main Street parking assessment in 2022, and she found that there were currently a total of 743 spaces in privately owned lots and on the street. There seems to be sufficient parking for the 300 block but not for the 400 block.

Before trying to find more parking for the 400 block, the Borough made it a priority to update their 40-year-old parking ordinance with the latest parking standards and best practices from nearby towns. This reduced our parking requirements to be more realistic with current day standards, including the number of spaces required for residences, retail, offices, and some services.

To increase and improve Main Street parking, the Borough and College would like to connect the College-owned existing parking lots behind buildings and convert them into shared lots. The College has also submitted preliminary sketches for new lots behind four of their Main Street buildings. The new lots would connect with Forno Antico’s and Vince Raffeo’s former parking lots (behind the Amerigreen gas station (map it)), and offer access both from Fourth Ave., Walnut St., and Main Street. The Borough and College would need grants to build these lots.

New Main Street Commercial (MSC) Zoning Proposed

Mark reviewed the Borough’s new Main Street Commercial (MSC) zoning, which has been approved by the Borough’s Planning Commission, but not yet approved by the Council. The zoning:

• Encourages mixed-use development and other active uses 
• Provides more consistent dimensional requirements 
• Supports optimal pedestrian design standards 
• Fosters greening and attractive streetscape standards, and 
• Promotes best-practice building design standards

The zoning is currently in draft form. Building owners, business owners and residents will all be welcome to comment and recommend changes to the zoning through the first quarter of 2024. Those changes can then be incorporated into the zoning before it is finalized.

The proposed Main Street District (MSD) zoning ordinance is available on the Borough of Collegeville website.

Creating a Town Square on Main Street 

Members of the Steering Committee were invited to share their thoughts on public space improvements for Main Street. Their ideas included improving the sidewalks so that they would be ADA accessible at five-foot minimum widths, although wider, nine-foot-wide sidewalks were seen as ideal. They also suggested that where there is space between Main Street buildings, the Borough might consider public seating, gardens, or outdoor dining.

But most of the Committee’s comments focused on creating—for the first time– an actual Collegeville town square where area residents could meet one-on-one or as a group for town receptions, concerts, and events.

Their ideas:

Make the College’s Clamer Hall property, currently a dorm at 409 E. Main St. (map it), Collegeville’s public town square, with benches and seating for receptions and outdoor dining. There could be trees, gardens and a mix of grass and hardscaping. The square would enable the borough or property owner to:

• Recruit a high-end restaurant or create a food court in the first floor of the building. The upstairs could be offices or a boutique hotel;
• Provide a covered stage for an outdoor music venue;
• Organize pop-up beer gardens for the site; and/or
• Organize a Farmers Market there.

Enhancing Main Street Through Pedestrian Connectivity, Streetscapes and Street Improvements 

The Steering Committee was asked to review and discuss “big ideas” for the Main Street plan. They were asked: 

“How would you like to see the streetscapes and walkways improved?” 

“How would you like to see the infrastructure of Main Street enhanced with better parking and access between properties?” 

Their answers:

• Sidewalk improvements – wider sidewalks with wide grass verges to separate the sidewalks from the traffic.
• Bump outs at every intersection for pedestrian crossings to slow the traffic and provide safety 
• Relocate the utilities and signs in the green verges so they are no longer in the middle of the sidewalk

They’d also like to see:

• Attractive street furniture, such as benches and trash cans 
• Bike racks and bike shares 
• Bike parking to offset parking spaces

Finally, to support connectivity:

• Create a bike lane on a street behind Main Street that will then connect with Main Street and the Perkiomen trail
• Create a walking and bike trail from the Perkiomen Trail at First Ave. through the wooded area known as Bum Hollow (map it) to connect to Main Street

Preserving our Main Street’s Village Feel and Architectural Character

Suggestions from the Committee to ensure that the architectural character of Main Street buildings are preserved and respected include:

• Avoid flat roofs. Design roofs similar to adjacent buildings. 
• Adopt a style consistent with the buildings on Main Street. All new buildings need to harmonize and fit with current architecture 
• Visually reduce the height of buildings, require step backs on upper stories so that the top story is set back from the story below.
• Do not turn Collegeville’s Main St. into Phoenixville!

Optimizing Mixed-Use Buildings on Main Street to Promote Businesses

The Committee was asked:

“How would you like to see the district improved to support existing businesses and promote adaptive reuse and new construction of stores, residences and entertainment uses?”

The answers:

• Provide for the active commercial use of the first floors. The building should be a minimum of 40 feet deep.
• Create upper floor apartments. Ideally, no residences would be on the first floor, which is reserved for commercial use.
• Locate offices on the second floor or in the back of the first floor. 
• Attract popular food venues, such as brewpubs. 

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Renovating buildings and creating new infrastructure for our Main Street, such as parking, lighting, and stormwater management can cost millions of dollars. 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 will be applying for additional funding this year when the application period opens in October. These grants require equal matching funds. We plan to work with developers to provide the match.

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The next Steering Committee meeting will be held in early October. It will be a Design Workshop, where Derck & Edson will focus on a series of preliminary Main Street design concepts related to civic spaces, streetscapes, transportation, parking, and zoning.

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Created in January 2018, the Borough of Collegeville Business Development Committee oversees economic development and business recruitment in the borough. It is made up of volunteers from the borough and administered by a Borough Council member.