Zelie parking deck proposed

Article published November 29, 2006

By ADAM M. FABIAN
Eagle Staff Writer

ZELIENOPLE — Plans to renovate the historic Strand Theater could also end up creating up to 130 parking spaces for the theater and the borough.
Ron Carter, president of the Strand Theater Initiative, the group working to restore the theater, told borough council Monday night that renovations could include the addition of a two-level parking deck behind the Main Street theater.
But Carter said if the initiative and the borough create a partnership, a dual-use parking deck could connect the borough's parking lot behind the New Castle Street municipal building with the theater.
Using the property behind the theater, Andrew Moss, of mossArchitects in Pittsburgh said the theater lot could create about 40 parking spaces. But by working with the borough and using the existing lot behind the municipal building, Carter said the deck would create about 130 spaces; 63 on the lower level and 59 on the upper.
Moss said traffic for the deck's lower level would enter and exit from Clay Street, while top-level parking would use New Castle Street and the alley between the theater and Nino's Trattoria on Main Street.
While council mostly supported the idea of the deck, members questioned details of a possible agreement, as well as the price tag for the project.
Details such as maintenance are negotiable, Carter said.
"Those are the kinds of things we can hash out,"he said.
Funding the estimated $1 million project, though, could require more work, said borough manager Don Pepe.
While some state funding is available, Pepe said most of the project funding would likely be non-grants.
But concerns about costs were mostly muted without specific project information.
The idea, which council said addresses one of the biggest problems facing the borough, mostly brought praise.
"If we can get 120 parking spots, that's 120 more than we have now,"councilman Drew Mathew said.
Councilman Bill Dickerson agreed: "It's a great concept if it all comes together."
Meantime, the rest of the theater renovation project continues, Carter said, with interior work expected to begin within 90 days.
"We're not stopping while we continue to fundraise,"Carter said.
He expects the theater to be fully functional within a year.
The theater plans, which include the renovation of the building at 121 N. Main St. next to the theater, an elevator and stairs in the theater, and a multi-purpose room built on the back of the theater, are now estimated at $4.4 million, Carter said.
That price includes the cost of the parking deck, he said.
To date, the initiative has raised $1 million, he said.