{"id":17000,"date":"2015-09-03T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=17000"},"modified":"2015-09-03T13:41:04","modified_gmt":"2015-09-03T17:41:04","slug":"chesco-commissioners-invest-a-further-2-million-in-coatesville-initiatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=17000","title":{"rendered":"Chesco Commissioners invest additional $2 million in Coatesville initiatives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parking, new senior center, transportation &\u00a0retail to shape \u2018Coatesville Gateway\u2019<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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COATESVILLE \u2013 Yesterday, at the city\u2019s Gateway Park, county leadership, area elected officials, nonprofit agencies and members of the community gathered to hear a special announcement regarding Chester County\u2019s latest investment in Coatesville development initiatives. Chester County Commissioners provided details of three major investments that will boost Coatesville programs, services and infrastructure.\u00a0\"????????????????????????????????????\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Commissioners Farrell, Cozzone and Kichline noted the groundswell of activity that is laying the foundation for Coatesville\u2019s revitalization, due to effective partnerships of, and smart investment by, local and state government, private investors and community groups.<\/p>\n

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Commissioners\u2019 Chair Terence Farrell provided information on an investment of $500,000, earmarked for Coatesville during the County\u2019s latest round of Community Revitalization Program (CRP) awards.\u00a0 The money will contribute to the construction of a new two-tier parking garage located at 1st Avenue and Diamond Street in the city, needed to support the commercial activity that will result from the $20 million Coatesville Gateway Redevelopment project.<\/p>\n

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DEPG Development’s rendering of the planned retail, dining and living space.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis half million dollar investment complements the CRP award of $700,000 that the county made to Coatesville last year for Lincoln Highway and 1st Avenue intersection improvements,\u201d noted Commissioner Farrell.\u00a0 \u201cCRP grants have benefited Coatesville and our 15 other urban centers over the past 13 years, and they are very necessary to greatly improve a community\u2019s overall health and provide for growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Commissioner Kathi Cozzone announced details of a $1.4 million investment by the County through its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, for a new Coatesville Area Senior Center.\u00a0 The CDBG funds cover the purchase of a new property and the renovation of the property to host the 1,300-plus seniors served by Senior Center staff and volunteers each year.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEvery week day, Coatesville seniors rely upon and enjoy a meal at the Senior Center.\u00a0 They take part in exercise classes, wellness program, and turn to volunteers at the Center for counseling and assistance with things like government entitlement programs, health insurance and tax returns,\u201d said Commissioner Cozzone.\u00a0 \u201cWe know that this investment in a larger premises is another smart move that directly benefits people within Coatesville, many of whom have called this city home for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

The senior center serves 1,300 seniors and service 5,000 meals every year. Executive Director Jen Givler noted, \u201cStatistics speak volumes for the success of our programs.\u00a0 Our membership has increased 25%, health and wellness programs have increased 35%, and we are witnessing a 75% increase in other special initiatives and services here at the senior center.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Turning the focus of the announcement to the importance of a good public transportation service for Coatesville residents, Commissioner Michelle Kichline revealed plans for Chester County to pick up the tab on a shortfall in funding for the LINK bus service.<\/p>\n

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A rendering of the new Coatesville Area Senior Center<\/p><\/div>\n

A review of the funding for LINK identified an opportunity for the County to step up and provide the matching funds that will allow the service to continue.\u00a0 Chester County\u2019s investment of more than $130,000 enables ChescoBus, the service run by the Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC) that provides the LINK, to receive a grant from PennDOT of $880,000, allowing the LINK to continue to operate and serve Coatesville for the remainder of the year, including Saturdays.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe LINK bus service is an essential lifeline for many residents in Coatesville and it is crucial to ensure it continues,\u201d commented Commissioner Kichline.\u00a0 \u201cIt is used by over 70,000 riders a year and its connection from the Brandywine Hospital through to Parkesburg encompasses the Brandywine YMCA, the VA Hospital, Handi-Crafters, the Airport Village Shopping Center, the Walmart in West Sadsbury and regular stops throughout the city of Coatesville.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt also connects with the Krapf \u2018A\u2019 bus for access to Exton and West Chester, which is critical for many Coatesville residents who have jobs there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jim Depetris, DEPG Development, revealed detailed plans for 30,000 square feet of retail, two restaurants and 45 market rate apartments that will compliment Coatesville\u2019s updated train station and ongoing revitalization efforts.<\/p>\n

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Attendees were reminded and invited to attend Coatesville\u2019s Heritage Day scheduled for Saturday, October 17th, which will feature family friendly activities centered in the Lukens Historic District.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parking, new senior center, transportation &\u00a0retail to shape \u2018Coatesville Gateway\u2019   COATESVILLE \u2013 Yesterday, at the city\u2019s Gateway Park, county leadership, area elected officials, nonprofit agencies and members of the community gathered to hear a special announcement regarding Chester County\u2019s latest investment in Coatesville development initiatives. Chester County Commissioners provided details of three major investments […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,25,4],"tags":[705,370,6560],"class_list":["post-17000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-community","category-featured","tag-chester-county-commissioners","tag-coatesville","tag-depg-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17000"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17001,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17000\/revisions\/17001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}