Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. (HRG) was under contract to complete a Redevelopment Study for the Business Route 222 (Allentown Pike/Fifth Street Highway) Corridor.
The Business Route 222 Corridor consists of 3.9 miles of highway within Muhlenberg Township. This corridor is a typical suburban corridor that has been in decline for many years with second and third tier retailers having a prominent foothold in the corridor. Muhlenberg Township wished to develop an implementable plan to revitalize the corridor, redevelop vacant parcels, attract private investment, and provide a transportation network that supports a sustainable corridor.
HRG’s distinctive approach for developing a revitalization plan for the Route 222 Corridor included a series of progressive and interrelated work activities. The HRG team employed a market-based approach to support the Township’s objective of providing the highest and best use development/redevelopment strategy (cost–benefit analysis) for the corridor. This strategy ensured a sustainable land use and infrastructure system congruent with the Township’s fiscal capacity and service delivery requirements (i.e., operating and capital improvement budgets).
The strategy was based on a strategic growth and urban design scenario, which was used to develop recommendations for Muhlenberg Township’s short-, mid-, and long-term land use and zoning, transportation, infrastructure, operational, governance, and economic development needs for the corridor, which included the NGK Metals Brownfields site.
This study included a robust public involvement process utilizing social media, survey monkey, public outreach meetings, community forums, a project specific website, public official interviews, private stakeholder interviews, and a seven member steering committee. The study was funded through a PennDOT grant and followed the PennDOT project delivery process.
