Two county projects – Cornplanter Square and the countywide recycling center – are moving toward completion.
At Cornplanter Square in Oil City, the windows have been put in and the roof is nearing completion, said Emily Lewis, executive director of the Venango County Economic Development Authority.
“The windows have made a change on the face of the building,” Lewis said.
Inside the building, the first project will be working on the third floor, which is slated to become a business innovation center.
The business innovation center will “meet the needs of the current climate more than ever,” Lewis said.
The county in January was awarded $3 million in grant money, which will be used for the interior of the building. Lewis said the money will be used to rebuild the third floor.
She said the interior of the building has been stripped down and will need rebuilt, including electrical work and HVAC systems.
As a result of the situation with COVID-19, the plan for the first and second floors to be transformed into a brewery is being “looked at currently,” Lewis said.
Recycling center
“They are the same ones who worked on the Elk County facility, which is efficient and runs well. They came with good recommendations,” Johnson said.
In August, ARS Engineering will begin surveying the area of the bus depot, planning the layout and beginning to retrofit the place, Johnson said.
Any “invasive” retrofitting, he said, cannot be done until the buses move to their new location. Meanwhile, the plan is to put up fencing and security cameras.
When the recycling center is up and running, the plan is to accept aluminum and tin cans, cardboard, plastics and paper, according to Johnson.
It’s not known yet whether the center will accept glass, he said, as there is not much of a market for it now.
