City of Erie eyes up to $15 million from state to revamp former Miller Bros. property

The city of Erie in November finalized a $2.7 million purchase of the former Miller Bros. Power Equipment property near 21st and State streets, eyeing the site for a new public safety/public works complex.

Now Mayor Joe Schember’s administration is preparing an application for up to $15 million in state funds to revamp the property.

Schember confirmed that city officials are working on finalizing the application, which will request the money from the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program over several years.

RACP grants, administered by the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget, provide funding for redevelopment projects statewide.

City officials plan to use the 3.76-acre site, located at 2111 State St., for a number of uses by the city’s police and fire bureaus, as well as the Department of Public Works, Property and Parks.

City officials have estimated the property would need up to $30 million in upgrades to serve the needs of police, firefighters and public works employees. The property's buildings collectively total about 100,000 square feet, according to county property records.

Schember’s chief of staff, Renee Lamis, said city officials plan to submit the application this month.

The project, Schember said “is one that is really going to help our operations and the city for years to come. This will provide a lot more space for police, fire public works for training, for their vehicles and other things.

Schember said even if an RACP grant is eventually awarded, the city will need to find additional financing for the property renovations, which would likely take three to five years to complete.

“We’re working on that (financing),” Schember said. “It’s going to be several years before we have everything ready to go there, but this is an important project.”

Erie City Council approved the property purchase in June.

Council President Jasmine Flores said she believes a majority of council members support the project and trying to secure state grant funding. Flores said she wants to make sure the city secures enough funding for the project "because we know we can't afford to pay for this ourselves."

"It's something that's needed. We've outgrown the space at City Hall," Flores said. "I just don't know where all of the money will come from but I'm hoping that it all gets accomplished."

Project breakdown

Local architectural firm Bostwick Design Partnership previously conducted an architectural study, programming design and space analysis at the property.

Buildings there collectively total about 100,000 square feet, according to county property records.

The Bostwick study states that the property’s buildings “contain more than sufficient floor area” to meet the city’s needs.

The estimated $30 million in renovations that would be necessary, according to the Bostwick study, include roof and façade repairs; plumbing, electrical and heating/ventilation/air conditioning upgrades; creating specific spaces/accommodations for emergency vehicles; and the construction of a new shooting range for police.

Once renovated, the property and its buildings would replace the city’s Marsh Street facility, a former state highway building at Marsh Street and Glenwood Park Avenue, which was built in the 1930s but is badly deteriorating.

The Marsh Street facility is used by both the Erie Bureau of Fire — including work space for fire inspectors and maintenance workers — and the city's Bureau of Parks.

Further, the city is considering the complex for housing fire department administrators; fire mechanics/maintenance workers/inspectors; moving other city employees there; and using a portion of the property as a classroom and field training site for police officers and firefighters, including the police bureau's Special Weapons and Tactics unit.

Police, fire support

Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny said the Miller Bros. property provides police with the opportunity to access increased space for evidence storage, training and parking for specialized vehicles.

A more expansive indoor shooting range than the one police currently have at City Hall could also be built there, Spizarny said.

“The current range in the City Hall basement is only 15 yards long and has four lanes, for example,” Spizarny said.

“Those buildings would be more efficient for all of our operations. And the best part is this facility is in the direct center of the city,” Spizarny said. “From an operational standpoint, it would help us 1000%.”

Assistant Fire Chief Leonard Trott called the renovation plan at the former Miller Bros. property  “a big picture plan” that will greatly benefit the fire bureau.

“We have some concerns about the structural instability at Marsh Street, and it would be great to have the additional space for our vehicles and for training,” Trott said. “To be able to get the ball rolling at Miller Bros. so we can get in there is a good thing.”

Miller Bros., founded in 1928, was originally located at East 14th and Holland Streets. The business relocated to State Street in 2010 because of the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority's expansion in that area.

The property's former owner, Mark Miller, closed Miller Bros. in August 2021 for a variety of reasons. The State Street location once served as the administrative offices for the Erie Brewing Co., which made Koehler beer.

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on X at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Could the state give Erie $15M to remake former Miller Bros. site?