Carlisle Urban Redevelopment
A Small Town Reinvented
Client
Borough of Carlisle/Cumberland County Housing & Redevelopment Authority
Location
Carlisle, PA
Years
2012-2023
After nearly 100 years of operation, three of Carlisle Borough’s largest industrial facilities closed during the period from 2008 to 2012. SGA lead an extensive effort of the Carlisle Community to proactively rebuild their economy through redevelopment of these critical post-industrial properties located within blocks of the town’s main square. With the October 2017 groundbreaking, the estimated $126M project is well underway.
SGA was retained as the prime consultant for a series of planning and design efforts focused around the Borough Northern Quadrant that includes three major former industrial brownfield properties:
2008 – International Automotive Components Group (IAC), a manufacturer of flooring and acoustics products to the automotive industry closed its plant in Carlisle, leaving 152 employees jobless. The plant first opened in 1919.
2009 – Tyco, a manufacturer of electronic components and connections for the computer and communications industries, closed its doors at its plant on Hamilton Street in Carlisle, leaving 117 unemployed.
2010 – Carlisle Tire and Wheel (CTW) relocated its operation to Jackson, TN and in turn left 340 employees jobless. CTW, a manufacturer and importer of agriculture, ATV, golf, aviation, trailer, and lawn and garden tires opened in Carlisle in 1917.
These manufacturing operations were all located in close proximity to one another in the urbanized northern part of Carlisle Borough. While their closings have created short term hardship, the nearly 50 acres of vacant property left in their wake, creates a substantial urban redevelopment opportunity for the future. In order to promote redevelopment activities that are context sensitive, mesh well, and do not conflict with the fabric of the surrounding neighborhoods the Borough is undertook the preparation of an Area-Wide Brownfields/Urban Redevelopment Plan for the area. The plan integrates land use, urban design, transportation, and economic development planning to create a comprehensive urban redevelopment strategy. The Borough received state and federal grant funds along with local matching funds to undertake the planning process. SGA’s individual efforts included under the master Urban Redevelopment Project include:
- Northern Quadrant Urban Redevelopment Plan
- U.S. EPA Brownfields Area-Wide Plan
- U.S. EPA Brownfields Hazardous and Petroleum Assessment Project
- U.S. EPA Technical Assistance – Former Tyco Site Mixed-Use Reuse Plan
- Transportation Connectivity Project Preliminary and Final Design and Engineering
- Fairground Avenue Stormwater Park Preliminary Design
- Urban Mixed-Use Zoning and Urban Design Guidelines Preparation
- Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Feasibility Analysis
Services
Urban Design
Brownfields Reuse Planning
Parks, Recreation, & Green Space
Resiliency, Green Infrastructure, & Landscape Utilities
Project Implementation Management
Project Facts
65 Acres of Brownfields
$126M Estimated Construction Value
500+ Community Members & Partners
Awards
2023 Region 3 Phoenix Award
2020 EPA Region 3 Mid-Atlantic People’s Choice Awards
