Bellefonte Waterfront Property
Bellefonte waterfront development project

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VISION STATEMENT

Centre Daily Times Article on Bellefonte Waterfront Project

With the completion of the floodwall along Spring Street from High Street to Lamb Street, it is believed that now is the time to implement a visionary development plan for the waterfront area of Bellefonte. Following is a summary of what the proposed development plan includes.

There will be a promenade along Spring Creek from High Street to Lamb Street that will serve as a pedestrian walkway and gathering space. There will be a nationally branded boutique hotel that will have 90 guest rooms, along with meeting and banquet rooms, a farm-to-table restaurant, and a rooftop lounge with indoor and outdoor seating. The hotel will be constructed at the corner of High Street and Dunlop Street. There will be outstanding views of Spring Creek and Talleyrand Park from many of the guestrooms. All the proposed buildings will be designed to complement the historic character of Bellefonte and will be constructed with high quality materials and will be very energy efficient. There will be a promenade all along Spring Creek that will serve as a public walkway and gathering space.

The location of the Bellefonte Waterfront is a short walk to downtown Bellefonte, the Courthouse, Talleyrand Park, Krauss Park, and the American Philatelic Building. In addition, the Bellefonte Waterfront is a short drive to the Titan Energy Park and Expo Center which is currently under development. Dunlop Street will be reconstructed adjacent to the existing Bellefonte mill race that fed water to the historic Gamble Mill. The water from the mill race cascades down a series of steps near the Gamble Mill and is then piped to Spring Creek. Dunlop Street is a twoway street and will connect High Street to Lamb Street. Next to Lamb Street is Krauss Park. People launch canoes and kayaks from this area into Spring Creek.

The main hotel entrance will be from Dunlop Street where guests will check in. This entrance will also serve as the primary entrance to the farm-to-table restaurant, rooftop lounge, meeting facility, and food and beverage service outlets. In addition, there will be an upscale pedestrian entrance from High Street and from the promenade. The front of the hotel will be professionally landscaped and will look toward Talleyrand Park.

The first floor of the hotel will feature registration, a lobby, and the farm to table restaurant as well as “back of the house” necessities such as kitchen, laundry, and offices. The restaurant will face the Spring Creek waterfront. Outdoor café-style seating will surround the restaurant allowing guests to experience the ambiance of the area along with a view of the brick promenade next to Spring Creek. Part of the exterior section of the restaurant facing the promenade will be covered by a roof over guest seating. Some meeting rooms will be provided on the first and second floors. Guests will enjoy the elevated vistas toward the two distinctive views: Talleyrand Park and the Spring Creek Waterfront. The restaurant will provide guests with a farm-to-table dining experience using locally sourced agricultural products along with locally crafted beers, wines, spirits, and ciders. One of the main goals of the project is to support local businesses. A rooftop lounge on the 6th floor will be a WOW factor in the hotel. It will provide panoramic views of Bellefonte and its surrounds. This lounge will seat approximately 50 people indoors and an additional 75 people outdoors. This lounge will be able to be reserved for special occasions.

The upper floors of the hotel will feature appropriately sized guestrooms with all the up-to-date amenities befitting a business or leisure guest that will complement the historic charm of Bellefonte. Some rooms will have windows facing the spectacular views of Spring Creek and the surrounding area which will be enhanced by opening to a Juliet-style balcony that will protrude from the plane of the building.

Next to the hotel will be a parking structure that will provide parking for the hotel guests, visitors to the waterfront area, and for residential condominium owners. There will be 293 parking spaces provided on floors 2 and 3 of the Page 2 of 2 parking garage. The latest in modern design and technology will be used in the garage. In addition, there will be approximately 25,000 square feet of commercial and retail space on the first floor of the parking structure. The Big Springs Spirits Distillery is interested in locating adjacent to the hotel in a commercial space. Above the parking floors of the parking garage on floors 4-6 will be residential condominiums. Each floor will have sixteen (16) condominiums. Residents of the condominiums will have reserved parking spaces on floor three of the garage.

Next to the hotel, there will be a parking structure that will provide parking for the guest rooms. Hotel room guests and visitors will be able to walk from the parking garage into the hotel via a covered bridge. There will be more than 330 parking spaces provided in the parking garage. Parking rates will be competitive with the parking rates in downtown Bellefonte. The latest in modern design and technology will be used in the garage. In addition, there will be approximately 20,000 square feet of commercial and retail space on the first floor of the garage.

The condominium units will be open to all age groups and will vary in size from approximately 1000 sf square feet for a one-bedroom unit to 2200 sf for a two-bedroom unit with a den. All the homes will be built to a high-quality standard and will be very energy efficient which will result in a maintenance-free lifestyle. Owners will be able to customize their unit and will be able to choose their flooring, lighting, appliances, paint colors, etc. All the condominium units will have a covered outdoor patio.

Our vision will also include an educational component. We will feature pictures throughout the hotel of Bellefonte’s great history. We will collaborate with local historians, artists, and community members to get their input on how we can educate people on the history of Bellefonte and Centre County. We want the development of the Bellefonte Waterfront to be a community effort which will encourage other entrepreneurs to continue redeveloping Bellefonte.

We believe that our vision for the Bellefonte Waterfront development will be the catalyst to enhance Bellefonte’s vibrant and active community, where people will want to visit and live, while supporting other businesses in the downtown area of Bellefonte and the surrounding area. The brick promenade along the waterfront will provide a gathering place for people and will provide a venue for outdoor events such as craft fairs and art exhibits.

Attached is a colored illustration of the Bellefonte Waterfront Development.

Tom Songer II, PE is a registered professional engineer who used to own PennTerra Engineering. Tom has more than 45 years of experience in developing residential and commercial projects in the State College-Bellefonte area. After selling his engineeringbusiness, Tom has continued to develop, own, and build both residential and non-residential projects in the State College-Bellefonte area. Tom serves as the managing partner of the Torron Group. See www.torrongroup.net for more information.

Mark Morath has more than 45 years working in the hotel and hospitality business and currently is the President and Chairman of Hospitality Asset Management (HAMCO) which he co-founded 25 years ago in State College. Mark is responsible for the management of fourteen (14) hotels and (5)five restaurants in the Central Pennsylvania area.

HAMCO has surrounded itself with over 450 dedicated employees throughout its operations. The nucleus of the HAMCO staff is based in State College. HAMCO was recognized in 2018 atthe Choice Hotel World Convention in Las Vegas, NV as the Choice Hotels’ Premier Hotelier. This honor is bestowed upon only the best of the hotel companies that epitomize quality. HAMCO’s properties have been honored multiple times with Franchise Hotel of the Year, Quality Awards, and Chairman’s Award recognitions. See www.hamco4.com for more information.

Tom Songer and Mark Morath will be the co-managing partners for the Bellefonte Waterfront Project and will be responsible for assembling and managing a team of professionals to design, construct, and operate the project.

Contact Tom Songer for more information at 814-231-2800 x1 or tfsonger@torrongroup.com.