Greensburg eyes downtown master plan, welcomes experts to review 7 properties

May 28—Greensburg Community Development Corp. is partnering with city officials and others to create a master plan for revitalizing the downtown business district.

The plan will incorporate the results of an analysis by national commercial real estate experts of seven key downtown properties ripe for redevelopment — including the lot at 225 S. Main St., where the deteriorated Advance Furniture building has been demolished as part of a Westmoreland County blight remediation program.

"We're doing this to pull together a vision and action plan for the downtown," said city planning director Jeff Raykes. "What is the downtown's identity?"

Raykes said the plan will have a more specific focus than the city's recently completed Shape Greensburg comprehensive plan.

"The comprehensive plan doesn't get specific enough to give us a checklist of things that need to be done," he said.

John Stafford, executive director of the Greensburg Community

Development Corp., said the post-pandemic master plan will provide a document city leaders can refer to when seeking funding for potential downtown improvement and development projects.

"Since 2020, the old method of bringing vibrancy into the downtown no longer possesses the same impact," said Stafford. "We must be open to completely changing the way we advance our revitalization efforts so that we can provide residents and visitors with a downtown that reflects new ideas, new

desires and new ways of having fun."

To provide an inclusive vision for the downtown, Stafford said, GCDC is inviting a variety of stakeholders to serve on a steering committee that will create a framework and select a consulting firm to develop the plan.

"We consider the input of our citizens, business owners, students and local volunteers to be very important in this process," he wrote in a letter sent to potential committee members.

The committee is being led by representatives from First Commonwealth Bank, Seton Hill University and Greensburg Business and Professional Association, as well as downtown property developers, local architects and city officials.

"Greensburg has the ability to tap into what is working for its downtown and build off of it with some sound planning," said city Councilman Greg Mertz. "The plan allows for it to be a community effort, working with our stakeholders downtown."

Mertz added, "We can't be afraid to ask for outside help in putting together ideas. Working with a planning consultant who focuses on downtowns can aid us there."

Stafford said he hopes the steering committee will have proposals from consultants to consider by the end of July and that a master plan could be ready for review by the end of the year.

Also in July, a team of real estate experts from across the country is slated to spend a week in Greensburg, studying the Advance Furniture lot and six other selected properties.

Initial ideas floated for the former Advance Furniture site include development of a flexible space that could support pop-up events and activities.

Additional properties Greensburg leaders have recommended for review include the former Mellon Bank building at 1 N. Main St.; the former Royers store at 114 S. Main; the former PNC Bank building at 125 S. Main; a three-story building with first-floor retail space at 321 S. Main, opposite First Presbyterian Church; an office building at 211 S. Pennsylvania Ave. that once housed part of the Troutman's department store; and a vacant lot owned by the Westmoreland Land Bank at 127 S. Pennsylvania.

City council has shown support for a plan by City Cribs to develop a small outdoor performance space at the latter vacant lot — formerly occupied by Derby's Delicatessen, which had deteriorated and was demolished in 2021.

The team of real estate experts will be provided by the Counselors of Real Estate Consulting Corps, in partnership with the National Association of Realtors, as part of a "transforming neighborhoods" initiative.

Once it completes its analysis, the team will provide immediate recommendations during an exit briefing, Stafford said, followed by a written report including "steps that the community can use to restore vibrancy to the downtown."

"It's a big deal to attract this group of real estate professionals," said Raykes. "They are connected to understanding the market."

The Realtors Association of Westmoreland, Indiana and Mon Valley (RAWIM) was awarded a $7,500 grant from the National Association of Realtors' Smart Growth Program to help fund development of the master plan.

"Realtors are passionate about their communities and want to make a difference," said RAWIM President Tracy Miscik, who lives in Greensburg. "We want our communities to continue to grow and develop."

She said the grant "will help raise awareness about the concept of smart growth in Westmoreland County," which calls for "a variety of housing types in a mixed-use development setting."

GCDC is drawing on $7,500 from its budget toward a $25,000 goal for funding development of the master plan. The Westmoreland Redevelopment Authority and the Land Bank, which control the Advance Furniture property, are contributing $5,000, as is the city.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .