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By HOLLY MATTHEWS Herald Staff Writer Titusville Planning Commission ‘and Titusville City Council will both meet within the next week and hopefully will be able to reach decisions concerning the design of the proposed 40-unit housing facility for the elderly to be constructed under the auspices of the Titusville Housing Authori ty within the Golden Days urban renewal project. The necessity for comparatively swift action on the design pro posals was discussed last night during a combined meeting of Titusville City Council, Redevel opment Authority, Housing Au thority, and the Mayor's Urban Renewal Advisory Commission held at the Colonel Drake Hotel. First Such Meet The purpose of the meeting was the discussion of the city's second urban redevelopment project, Golden Days. It was the first combined meeting designed to in form those involved in city gov ernment of the various phases, of the present redevelopment proj ect. Robert Sauber, chairman of the Redevelopment Authority, noted that the Golden Days project will include three prime developments —the industrial highway, the housing for the elderly and com mercial concerns. Housing Discussed Most of last night's discussion centered around the housing project, its proposed designs and its proposed location, Keith Swenson of Beckman and Swenson, planning consultants, explained that his firm has com pleted a land use alternatives re port which suggests a site to be used for the location of the 90 units of housing for the elderly. The planning firm considered six locations in the Golden Days, area, and determined that the most appropriate spot for the fa cility is that which has already been approved’ by ‘the Housing Authority and is being acquired by the developer, Towne Develop ment of New Castle. This site is on Central Avenue in the center of the block east of Martin Street, approximately in the spot now occupied by Quality Motors car Jot. The land use re port has been approved by the Planning Commission members, who have recommended that It be approved by City Council. The planners’ recommendation was received by council, at its last meeting, but action was tabled until after last night’s session. Design Changes The design proposal for the housing units was the next item taken up by the groups present. John Blackson of Towne Develop ment introduced the design con sultant, Kay ‘Thompson of W. C. Eckles Co., architects. Thompson noted that when first conceived, a cottage-type ar rangement was considered for the 0 units. This plan would have utilized one-story units, spread over a large area. It was ex plained last night that this would be economically unfeasible today because of the land involved. The design favored by Thomp son, the developers and the Hous ing Authority is that of a 10-story high-rise building. The total proj ect cost was estimated at about $2 million. It would be serviced by two elevators as well as stair ways. 10. Stories Better “Thompson noted that the 10- story building would fit the ap proved Int, would create, more attractive units, would be less institutional in appearance, could be better managed by the Hous ing Authority and could be better maintained than any other design suggested. Besides the cottage arrangements, the other designs included a six-story building and a three-story building. One drawback to the 10-story structure is its height. It would be too high to be accepted by the city’s present zoning ordinance. Worried About Fire Also connected with its height, Councilman C.C. Hampton ex pressed concern over fire protec tion. He said he did not believe the city’s present fire equipment could handle a blaze in such a high building. Mrs. John MacDonald, Housing Authority chairman, stated that she had discussed the matter with Fire Chief Albert L'Huillier. Mrs. MacDonald said the fire chief in dicated that the city's present equipment does not meet the un derwriters’ code for protection of the new Titusville Hospital. Thus, the city will be forced to pur chase sufficient equipment in the future which will also be avail able to the highrise. Spring construction Blackson stated that his com pany would like to be ready for construction by late spring. However, he cannot proceed with a timetable nor final designs until a basic design has been approved and recommended to City Coun cil by the Planning Commission and given final approval by the councilmen. Albert Ingham Jr., chairman of the Planning Commission, stated that his group will meet Friday to discuss the highrise design. City Council has a regularly scheduled meeting next Monday night. Highway Change The industrial highway phase of Golden Days was briefly dis cussed by Sauber and Ingham. They noted that a change in the location of the highway (also known as the Titusville bypass) has been announced. The indus trial highway will remain as pre viously designed from Martin Street east. However, from Mar tin Street west it will dip farther to the south than anticipated. This change will possibly open up more of an area for inclusion in the project. It was noted that many facets of the Golden Days project re main in the ‘thinking’ stages, especially the commercial devel opment plans. In closing, Sauber’ pointed out that by March 1 it is hoped a di rector will have been engaged to oversee both the redevelopment and housing authorities.
Newspaper Details
Titusville Herald
Titusville, Pennsylvania, US
Tue, Feb 02, 1971
Page 1
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USA 23 Jun 2026
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