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By MARYALICE MELI A year ago, a crowd jammed ESB Bank’s community room despite freezing temperatures to hear about revitalizing downtown Ellwood City. Tuesday night, a crowd nearly three times that size turned out to fill the Sons of Italy hall and offer specific ideas for remaking the borough’s business district into a vibrant, economic success. For a town the size of Ellwood — about 8,700 — Rod Garrison of Akron-based EG&G said he had expected only 50 to 70 people but the turnout was about 150. In the past year, the nine-member board of directors for the Ellwood City Main Street Project/Revitalization Inc. has obtained non-profit status from the state, signed a cooperative agreement with borough council, chose the planning consultants to guide the process and began raising funds. EG&G representative Rich Cleveland gave a presentation showing some communities in the design phase and two that have been completed — Slippery Rock and Washington, Pa. Both were multimillion-dollar investments. However, the economic impact has tripled the investment in both places with new businesses and new restaurants, he said. In Slippery Rock, he noted, ground has been broken for a hotel. Garrison said the target area for revitalization is the Lawrence Avenue business district between Fourth and Tenth streets and some cross streets, including Fifth Street that features an overhead railroad crossing. He showed photos of Ellwood’s architectural assets, such as the borough building, St. Agatha Church and some of the historic structures. Other strengths include three banks, good businesses on ground floors and street enhancements such as relocating some overhead wires underground. On the liability side, he showed cracked curbs and broken sidewalks with some utility wires that remain to be relocated underground. He added that many buildings are either vacant or underutilized, with areas of aging or worn out infrastructure. He said the downtown is lackluster and outdated, with little vitality. However, Garrison pronounced the district overall as one of opportunity and potential.
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