Hundreds of Acres Rezoned in Chambersburg to Enable Development (Carlisle: apartments, condos)

[Dequindre]

Chambersburg Public Opinion
April 5, 2016

"CHAMBERSBURG - Business will continue booming in the area off Interstate 81 Exit 17 for years to come, as Greene Township supervisors have opened up space in the area to commercial development.

Projects could include hotels, restaurants and health centers.

The move comes more than a decade after the opening of Exit 17 ended a 20-year battle over the interchange. Previous supervisor boards spent $1 million fighting construction of an Exit 17, originally known as Exit 7."

Greene Twp. re-zoning plan builds on business boom at Exit 17

[Dequindre]

I envision a large master-planned mixed-use center being built (at least on the Nitterhouse side of the property). The Nitterhouse family is involved in a lot of local development projects in the Chambersburg area, so I'm confident that they will bring the best uses they can to the area. I wouldn't be surprised to see larger retail close to Chambersburg Crossing (a variance to the new zoning), commercial office spot toward the middle of the property (Franklin County Area Development Corporation is supposedly luring more white-collar employers to the area), and high-density residential toward the Kohler Road/Northern side of the property (apartments, townhouses, condos, etc.). The layout that I just described would create the buffer that Greene Township would like to have from the single family home areas North of Kohler Road.

It is a bit baffling that Summit Health bought such a large piece of property North of the current Summit Health buildings. Their portion will eventually have an extended Fifth Avenue running through it. According to the new zoning, Summit will need to have a medical campus of at least 50 acres. The current Summit Health buildings seem to serve Franklin County's resident population very well, so that leads me to believe that something a bit more high-profile may be planned. A children's hospital? A cancer treatment center? A new Chambersburg Hospital (a bit more unlikely)? I can't imagine the area needing too many more structures solely for doctors offices (unless Summit expects Franklin County's population to boom here in the near future), so it will be exciting to see what they have planned. A specialty hospital or treatment center would not only bring more professionals to the area to live and work in or near it, but it would also bring non-residents to the area (which would be a boon to local restaurants and hotels).

[Dequindre]

A project to construct Parkwood Drive from Norland Avenue to Grandpoint Road is under budget. Developers hope to spend the leftover money to extend Fifth Avenue.

Fifth Avenue will split 95 acres of farmland at 2054 Grandpoint Road, which Chambersburg Hospital bought in June for $125,000. The hospital owns all rights of way for the extension, according to Brown.

Fifth Avenue extension to Greene Twp. is planned

Apparently the cost of extending Parkwood came under-budget, so Fifth Avenue will be extended earlier than originally thought.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by Dequindre

It is a bit baffling that Summit Health bought such a large piece of property North of the current Summit Health buildings. Their portion will eventually have an extended Fifth Avenue running through it. According to the new zoning, Summit will need to have a medical campus of at least 50 acres. The current Summit Health buildings seem to serve Franklin County's resident population very well, so that leads me to believe that something a bit more high-profile may be planned. A children's hospital? A cancer treatment center? A new Chambersburg Hospital (a bit more unlikely)?

Actually that's probably more likely. Many similar size communities have seen their old in-town accretionary hospital structures abandoned in favor of a new edge town complex. See: Carlisle, and Cumberland MD.

Building a new destination medical complex for out-of-town draw in Chambersburg is probably not as likely. Neither Penn State nor Hopkins would have any incentive to do anything like that there. The only possibility, likely rather distant, is if UPMC would take over Summit as an outpost of its empire.

[Dequindre]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

Actually that's probably more likely. Many similar size communities have seen their old in-town accretionary hospital structures abandoned in favor of a new edge town complex. See: Carlisle, and Cumberland MD.

Building a new destination medical complex for out-of-town draw in Chambersburg is probably not as likely. Neither Penn State nor Hopkins would have any incentive to do anything like that there. The only possibility, likely rather distant, is if UPMC would take over Summit as an outpost of its empire.

Summit is currently tearing down more houses around the current hospital for more parking, so I really can't figure out their plans. If they were planning to build a new hospital in the future, I can't imagine that they would be continuing to expand the hospital's current footprint.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by Dequindre

Summit is currently tearing down more houses around the current hospital for more parking, so I really can't figure out their plans. If they were planning to build a new hospital in the future, I can't imagine that they would be continuing to expand the hospital's current footprint.

Unfortunately that seems to be a trend as well - bomb out the neighborhood, before leaving it. I bet those snarky new urbanist blogs have a term for that unfortunate common occurrence.

[Dequindre]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

Unfortunately that seems to be a trend as well - bomb out the neighborhood, before leaving it. I bet those snarky new urbanist blogs have a term for that unfortunate common occurrence.

That happened in nearby Hagerstown, MD too. The immediate neighborhood downtown near the hospital was dependent on the facility, but they moved the hospital to a new facility further away from downtown Hagerstown. The temporary nurse housing and practice offices that were around the old hospital are now more or less gone.

[Dequindre]

Just a thought: Could Summit be holding that land for a potential tie-up with a local college or university for some kind of medical training school or facility? Yeah, it's a pretty big stretch (more of a wish, actually), but there are three institutions of higher learning within the immediate area: Wilson College, Penn State Mont Alto, and Shippensburg University. FCADC recently announced that they're partnering with Shippensburg University for finding employment for SU students in the area (which is a great way to keep these educated graduating SU students in the area), so a partnership would not be unprecedented. A "Summit School of Medicine at (insert college/university name here)" would also add high-paying medical and educational jobs to the area. Increased student activity in the area would create demand for new restaurants, retailers, housing, etc.

Maybe I should suggest this to Summit.

[ki0eh]

Although it seems like an interesting idea for the State System to have a medical school, Penn State already has one - and some of the students and researchers think it's too rural and boring as it is, so probably not likely for it to move from Hershey to Chambersburg.

Not that it would tie in with Summit, but I hear a veterinary college is a major need. Although since Penn State wanted to gather the law school into University Park, I would not imagine they would care to locate such a college away from the centre without major involvement by "Uncle Sugar."

[Dequindre]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

Although it seems like an interesting idea for the State System to have a medical school, Penn State already has one - and some of the students and researchers think it's too rural and boring as it is, so probably not likely for it to move from Hershey to Chambersburg.

Not that it would tie in with Summit, but I hear a veterinary college is a major need. Although since Penn State wanted to gather the law school into University Park, I would not imagine they would care to locate such a college away from the centre without major involvement by "Uncle Sugar."

Wilson College specializes in veterinary science.