Bellefonte Waterfront Project developer eyes fall groundbreaking after plan approval

The Bellefonte Borough Council gave conditional approval to the final development plans for the Bellefonte Waterfront Project Monday, with the developer saying ground could be broken on the long-awaited project before the end of the year.

The plans, which were presented by project developer Tom Songer, include two main buildings to be built in the grassy area above Spring Creek, directly across West High Street from Talleyrand Park. Originally, three buildings were going to be built, but revisions to that plan were approved by the council in March.

The two buildings will be built simultaneously, Songer said, with the first building being a six-story, 93-room, nationally-branded boutique hotel, complete with a farm-to-table restaurant and a rooftop lounge located at the corner of of Dunlop and West High streets.

The second building will house a 268-space parking garage, 48 condominium units and around 33,000 square feet of commercial space.

“We think we’re very close to getting this thing launched this year,” Songer told the council on Monday. “We’re very excited about the project and we’re looking forward to getting it started this fall.”

In addition to the overview of the buildings and the project’s tentative timeline, some smaller details were also shared at the meeting, including that a brick promenade will connect the two buildings, serving as public gathering and walking space. It will also hold the restaurant’s outdoor seating, while the restaurant itself will hold up to 100 people.

Songer also shared that the parking garage would use both license plate scanning technology and a ticket system for payment, and that the rooftop lounge would hold up to 75 people, serving as the project’s “wow factor.”

“When you’re sitting up on the sixth floor of the hotel, you’ll be able to see a panoramic view of all of Bellefonte,” Songer said.

As for the project’s condominiums, Songer said that while they’re already garnering “a lot of interest” from potential buyers, they will officially be marketed and sold once the project’s construction begins. Buyers will be able to customize the interior finishes of each room of their respective condominium.

While the project is finally nearing its official start date, there are still four final conditions that the project’s developers must complete before breaking ground.

These conditions include the borough council’s approval of a legal agreement to vacate Dunlop Street; the completion of a transportation impact study and highway occupancy permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (or written confirmation from PennDOT that neither is required); a finalized, recorded covenant or easement on a parcel adjacent to the east side of the Bellefonte Wastewater Treatment Plant to be used as a riparian zone offset for the project; and the approval of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.

Once all conditions are met, construction can finally start on the project, which has sat at a standstill for years.

At one point, the borough was optimistic that the first phase of construction would begin in spring 2019. Then it was 2020, at least until the coronavirus pandemic unfolded. As time passed, the developers were also hopeful it would begin in summer 2022 or spring 2024, but state funding issues led to further delays.

Now that the project could break ground in the fall though, the hotel and parking garage could be completed by fall 2026 and the condos could be ready to be occupied by late 2026 or the early part of 2027, Songer told the CDT in January.