RESEARCH AVAILABLE Where: Erie Center for Design & Preservation Position Type: Research & Marketing Study/Business Plan Contact: Lisa Austion <laustin@edinboro.edu> Description: The ErieCDP, a 501c3, needs a reuse plan for the Villa Chapel. The chapel is located at the corner of the 800 block on West 9th and Plum Streets in Erie, PA and is part of the former ecclesiastical compound built for the Sisters of Saint Joseph almost a century ago. The block (bounded by West 8th and Liberty streets) is home to the former convent and school, which were successfully turned into lowincome apartments by the Sisters, HANDS and Pennrose Development Corporation. HANDS and Pennrose are inexperienced in nonresidential development. Thus, the chapel may be demolished to make way for a parking lot. However, the 80% owner, Pennrose, has agreed to allow redevelopment of the chapel if an appropriate reuse plan can be identified and funded. Founded in 2007, the ECDP works to preserve and protect the unique character of greater Erie by encouraging both a greater appreciation for and the adaptive reuse of the historic buildings, industrial structures, and historic neighborhoods that have shaped our collective regional identity and sense of
place. The ECDP promotes the value of historic preservation and good urban design as key elements of a vision of sustainable development that can improve the quality of life in the region. If possible, it would be great to have a completed document in December 2011. The ErieCDP will then hire an architectural illustrator to create a drawing to accompany the Penn State text. If possible, the ErieCDP would like to showcase the Penn State plan at a press conference in January 2012.