BROOKVILLE, Pa. (EYT) – Work on the Brookville Town Square is set to be completed the first week of September.
On Tuesday, Theron Miles, of Terra Works in Clarion, said, “Things are going very well. We’re a little bit ahead of schedule.”
He said most of the work will be done before September.
According to an April 7, 2015, story in explorejeffersonpa.com, the North Central Regional Planning and Development Commission indicated construction was estimated to begin in early summer last year and that organizers hoped to have the site completely rebuilt by the end of November of 2015.
Miles said work is currently being done on a 5-foot waterfall and retaining walls.
Historic Brookville, Inc. managed the project that was estimated to cost a total $845,250.00. Local fundraising efforts raised $315,250.00 while a state grant for $380,000.00 was received from the Pa. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The final piece of the pie came from $150,000.00 in funds from the Appalachian Regional Commission through North Central.
The Master Site Plan for the space, prepared by Ohio urban design and landscape architecture firm MKSK, includes a central lawn area and an area with seating for events that could potentially be converted in the winter to accommodate an ice skating area.
Plans for the Town Square also include plantings, performance and exhibit space, and a “water wall” water feature.
The Town Square will be located on the west side of the Jefferson County Courthouse. The location previously housed a service station that was built in the 1960s on the site of the 1850s American Hotel.
When the service station closed in early 2005 and was shortly thereafter placed on the market for sale, Historic Brookville, Inc. secured a purchase option on the property.
Various community meetings were held to discuss options for how to utilize the space provided by the site. A vast majority of opinions presented at the public forums favored the creation of a community gathering space that would be known as the Town Square.
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