100 Acres 200 Million Dollars

By: The Coatesville 2nd Century Alliance

Whenwe began listing all the development projects completed, underway, or in the planning stages in the City’s core commercial district, and applied the amount of investment to these projects, these are the numbers we came up with. Nearly $200 million across just 100 acres.

Let’s start at the top:

The new train station at Fourth Avenue and Fleetwood Street, currently under construction and slated for completion in the fall of 2025, is a $65,000,000 project. The parking garage planned for Fleetwood Street between Third and Fourth Avenue is an estimated $13,000,000. The garage is 100% designed and the City and Coatesville Redevelopment Authority are close to having all the funds in place for construction which will coincide with new train station construction schedule.

On the Flats, the northwest corner for First Avenue and Lincoln Highway, the National Sports & Event Center is in the land development phase. This $75,000,000 velodrome, sports, and entertainment venue includes a 2,500-seat arena, 12,000 SF of retail space, 8,000 SF for sports medicine, and 10,000 SF sports performance facility. The project is scheduled for groundbreaking mid-2023.

At the corner of Third Avenue and East Lincoln Highway, plans are underway for a four-story mixed- use building with commercial office and retail on the first floor. Proudfoot Capital purchased the site from the Coatesville Redevelopment Authority and plans an investment of more than $9,000,000 on the project slated to begin summer 2023.

Another Proudfoot Capital development project is the nth Innovation Center at 190 West Lincoln Highway. This $5,000,000 project included restoration of an existing 9,000 SF building and new construction of a two-story 20,000 SF engineering lab and manufacturing expansion.

At the corner of First Avenue and Lincoln Highway, the Gateway project has completed sitework and surface parking. Still in the planning stages, this $21,000,000 project includes the adaptive re-use of the former Mast Department Store building into a performing arts center and bistro restaurant along with 20,000 SF of new construction to accommodate retail and office.

Just across Lincoln Highway, the former National Bank will undergo a significant transformation into a new restaurant. The planned adaptive reuse of the historic bank building into a steakhouse restaurant and bar is estimated to cost $1,400,000.

This important corner recently completed an intersection realignment with new signal patters and equipment to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety. The First Avenue & Lincoln Highway Intersection Realignment came in at $2,000,000 and will more safely connect the Flats development project to the historic Lukens campus and downtown Coatesville.

From First Avenue to Third Avenue on Lincoln Highway, plans for a complete redo of the downtown streetscape are in the works. Currently in engineering, this $1,300,000 project will include: repaving, ADA-compliant sidewalks, ramps, and crosswalks; new lighting; modernized traffic signals and signage; and bicycle racks, benches, and trash receptacles.

And all along Lincoln Highway there’s more activity.

The former YMCA building is currently under construction for a brew pub slated to open summer 2023. Steel City Brewing is checking in at about $1,000,000 in development costs.

Just up the street, the Record Kitchen & Bar and Splitting Edge Axe Throwing opened in November 2022. The reviews on the first full-service restaurant and bar in Coatesville in 50 years have been rave. The renovation of the former Coatesville Record Building came to approximately $500,000.

The new headquarters of the Coatesville 2nd Century Alliance is at 228 East Lincoln Highway, the former Army Navy Store. The space also includes our new Made in Coatesville Small Business Incubator, a retail space occupied by eight small businesses and entrepreneurs. The program offers not only an affordable physical location for Coatesville entrepreneurs to launch their businesses, but also provides wrap-around business education, support, and access to financing opportunities. The investment to convert this building was $65,000.

Like Jazz? We’re excited to welcome Andrea’s Jazz Café, a live music, entertainment, and dining venue to the block. Investing $500,000 in building renovations and business startup, the owners plan to open in summer 2023 with great music, delicious food, and a liquor license.

Midway Arts, the five-story former furniture warehouse at 139 East Chestnut was purchased and renovated by an investor in 2019. It now provides business incubator space as well as a local and regional event venue. The building is 100% occupied with a waiting list after an investment of $1,100,000.

Just next door, the Lumber Street Garage is owned by the same developer that transformed Midway Arts and Record Kitchen + Bar. Their plans for this building include a takeout food service. Construction is underway at about $250,000 and they plan to open late 2023.

Historic Train Station

Lastly, the exterior improvements completed recently to the historic train station building at the corner of Third Avenue and Fleetwood Street include façade repair, painting, and vegetation removal. The funds, $120,000 were provided by a Chester County Community Development Block Grant.

Adding it all up, the total comes to nearly $200,000,000 in investment in the core of the City. Considering the size of the area as only about 100 acres, this can be considered incredibly significant, unprecedented, and tremendously catalytic for future growth in the City of Coatesville.