Progress 2023: South Williamsport

South Williamsport: A welcoming family suburbia

By MATTHEW COURTER mcourter@sungazette.com

For many, it might seem South Williamsport stands in the shadow of the larger metropolitan area of downtown Williamsport. In reality, however, South Williamsport has been a thriving community since its establishment in 1886.

In fact, the borough boasts a few hundred businesses, despite only consisting of 23 miles of roads within its 1.9 square mile city limits and is internationally known as the home of the Little League World Series. Since moving to Lamade J. Stadium in 1959, the series has expanded to 16 teams, necessitating the need for a second venue, Volunteer Stadium.

But South Williamsport is much more than Little League.

“We’ve got a little bit of everything,” says Borough Manager Steve Cappelli. “We have a grocery store, we’ve got retail plazas, we’ve got pharmacies, we have professional doctor offices. So, if you live here, you can pretty much attain what you need without traveling large distances.”

“We’ve held relatively steady for the past decade,” Cappelli says, in terms of population, “I would say we see a marginal population increase each year.”

And the population is only expected to grow in the coming years, due to the influx, largely, of medical professionals moving to the area for work with UPMC and Geisinger.

The borough is meeting this need by partnering with Hutchinson Realty Developmental to build a new multistory complex, consisting of approximately 24 one-, two-, and three-bedroom high end market-rate rental apartments. While this project, located next to Little League’s Lion’s Field, will break ground in early summer, the borough also has plans to partner with Habitat for Humanity to build four new, single family homes along Clark Street, with further collaborations possible in other areas of the borough.

Cappelli hopes these homes will “bring young, hardworking families into the borough,” because “it helps our school district, it helps our tax base, and gives them the opportunity for a piece of the American dream. And it’s been a great project so far.”

Despite having one of the lowest property tax burdens in Lycoming County, South Williamsport provides a full range of safety services, including a full-time, paid police department of 10 officers, as well as a K9 unit.

The borough partnered with Loyalsock Township last year to provide paid fire protection. Cappelli stresses the importance of this, stating “we no longer rely solely on volunteers that are becoming more scarce as the years go by. We now have paid firemen stationed here, paid firemen stationed in Loyalsock and they serve both of our communities quite professionally.”

“So, despite all of those investments in public safety and providing critical services, your tax bill for the year is not only extremely reasonable, it is consistently reasonable,” Capelli continued.

With all that it has to offer, the borough is planning major upgrades in the near future, such as repaving projects that will stretch all directions of the Route 15 corridor from the historic scenic lookout to Market Street, and along Route 654, commonly known as Southern Avenue from the intersection at Hastings Street, all the way to the corporate boundary in DuBoistown.

A revamping of the traffic system is also in the works.

“We currently have an $850 thousand grant application in with PennDOT, which we’re cautiously optimistic we’ll get approved to ‘resignalize’ all of the traffic signal locations along Route 15,” Capelli said, adding these improvements would include state-of-the-art LED traffic signals with integrated controls and wireless monitoring capabilities.

The city is also looking to shore up its flood protection and stormwater management system that has fallen out of certification specifications as determined by the Army Corp of Engineers. Plans in the works are to repair or replace the 19 French drains this side of the river, removing or filling crosspipes that are no longer used to carry stormwater to the river.

“I’ve been dealing with it since I arrived here back in August in 2018,” Capelli said. “We’ve spent a lot of money on engineering. I think we’re finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel in terms of getting some of these contracts awarded and getting these identified deficiencies by the Army Corp. completed. We’re down to two items over here, some relief wells and some crosspipes and once we get that put behind us, I think we’ll be in good shape for the long term.”

Borough government has done much work on making South Williamsport ripe for commercialization, particularly along Route 15, which Cappelli refers to as “town commercial district.”

“We’ve rezoned specifically to make the Route 15 corridor something of a mini-Loyal Plaza or mini-Golden Strip, or at least give the clarity to developers to make those investments or seriously consider making

those investments along that spinal cord coming through our borough,” he said. “We’ve set the dinner table, now we’re just waiting for someone to come and do a nice meal.”

A delicious and nutritious plate may be served up in the near future, with Cappelli teasing that “a significant, firstof-its-kind retail store establishment in this part of Pennsylvania” is on its way to the borough.

“We have a large retail store which will, I believe, be announced later this year. I don’t want to say what it is because it involves two different entities that have partnered,” he said. “They’ve asked to keep that somewhat confidential until the two partners themselves can make that public announcement and we’re very excited to work with both the developer and the owner of the land to make that happen.”

There are also improvements coming to the South Williamsport Community Park, where a long-idle swimming pool complex is set to be razed, with a new $2 million multiuse facility taking its place. The one-story complex would not only house borough government offices, but also create additional event rental space in the borough.

“All accessibility issues will be satisfied as part of the design and it will not only give us the ability to conduct the people’s business there, but to have a complex with indoor capabilities to have catered events, for community meetings, for nonprofit group meetings, for outdoor venue entertainment,” Cappelli says, adding “to me, it will be a legacy for the borough, for borough council, and for Mayor (Marlin) Angelo to get that building off the design paper and

ON THE COVER

constructed and opened for the community.”

In the meantime, the South Williamsport Community Park has much to offer already.

Calling it “one of the finest recreational complexes in Lycoming County,” Cappelli notes that the park comprises 40 acres and includes six soccer fields, a football field, four baseball fields, picnic pavilions, and a beautiful tree-lined walking and bike track. He described the park as “a gem,” adding it’s “something that is enjoyed by people of all over our area, not simply the folks who live on this side of the river.”

Cappelli summed up the strengths of South Williamsport, simply noting “we’re just a tremendously affordable, very safe, family-oriented suburb of the city; we always have been, always will be.”

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

The staff at Dave’s Pro Auto Service in South Williamsport includes, from left, Andrew Klees, Russell Long, David Covey, Jeff Pardoe, Stephannie Maneval and Keith O’Neal.

RICK MAHONSKI RICK MAHONSKI

PHOTO PROVIDED Little Treasures PreSchool & Child Care, above, which is next door to Treasure Castle Playland, prides itself on their valued top-notch staff. They take great pride in the school and its 15-year quality reputation in the greater community.

Treasure Castle Playland, left, 1414 W. Southern Ave., South Williamsport, is not your average indoor play place. It’s an indoor playground housed inside of a century-old stone castle, meant for kids ages 1 to 12.

Treasure Castle makes magic for community’s children

Treasure Castle Playland, 1414 W. Southern Ave., South Williamsport, was established in 2009 and serves as a family-centric indoor playground.

The playland, built inside a true castle, is open six days a week to the general public. It’s available as a host site for events including birthday parties and summer camp.

Family-owned, Treasure Castle hosts TREASURE summer camp for children ages 6 through 12.

“We truly do have such a fantastic program in place with themed weeks and coordinating activities as we learn, play and grow,” says owner and camp director Brenda N. Lukasiewicz on the Treasure Castle website.

“It would be my pleasure to speak with you in greater detail regarding the Treasure Summer Camp program, activities, field trips and summer expec-

tations,” she says, encouraging families to call her at 570-326-5000. “Camp tends to have a waiting list so please contact me at your earliest convenience. Kids ages 6 to 12 can expect to make new friends and learn important life lessons at the same time as we plan to have a blast summer 2023!”

For parties, Treasure Castle sets up, provides favor baggies and cleans up, too. Private, themed party rooms are available, so your party can be tailored to you and your kiddos.

There is a food court, multiple party rooms and a gift shop available, and the facility is handicap chair-lift accessible.

Treasure Castle is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays. For more information, call 570-326-5000 or visit treasurecastleplayland.com

RICK MAHONSKI GOLDSMITH

PHOTO PROVIDED

Mahonski draws