The Harry Bennett Memorial Roundhouse sits on the grounds of the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Blair County Planning Commission members Thursday gave a favorable review to plans for an expansion to the Railroaders Memorial Museum roundhouse.

Plans call for a 2,561-square-foot addition to the roundhouse near the northeastern end of the museum’s property. Proposed site improvements include 522 square feet of new sidewalks and a 900-square-foot rock runoff retainage area designed to capture rainwater runoff from the addition’s roof area.

The addition is being proposed in conjunction with Penn State Altoona’s Rail Transportation Engineering program and will include a classroom, a lab equipment room, two locker rooms with bathrooms and a mechanical room. The addition has been designed to support 26 individuals including students and staff, said Tom Gissen of Stuart Group Consulting.

“This is an historic site, at one time it was the largest railyard in the country,” Gissen said.

The Railroaders Memorial Museum is currently in partnership with Penn State Altoona, which has the country’s only ABET-accredited BS degree in RTE, said Museum Executive Director Joseph DeFrancesco.

“We are collaborating to establish a Rail-Focused Workforce Development Hub at the Museum’s Harry Bennett Memorial Roundhouse. Discussions have been underway for almost two years and we believe we are nearing approvals from both parties. Assuming approvals are granted, we will begin executing the first phase of the project,” DeFrancesco said.

DeFrancesco said the roundhouse, constructed about 2014, was built as a shell, a basic structure with floor and utilities in four out of seven bays of the building. The scope of work will include finishing the unfinished three bays, installing utilities and bringing the entire facility up to a usable standard to support workforce training and RTE lab space such as welding, locomotive, railcar and associated rail technologies.

“This enhanced facility will be mutually beneficial to both parties, including an enhanced space for the restoration of museum rolling stock and rail operations,” DeFrancesco said.

The proposed development appears to meet criteria for a minor site plan as described in the City of Altoona Code. However, the received plans are missing information that is required under the City of Altoona Code and should be added to the plans unless waivers are granted by the city, or the information is otherwise determined to be unnecessary, Gissen said.

The applicant is not proposing to increase the number of on-site parking spaces. Given the site’s long development history and the vesting of many improvements, it may be difficult to determine whether additional parking is required under the code.

The proposed use, a small college-level educational facility, appears to be compatible and consistent with the Railroaders Memorial Museum’s community facility use. However, whether a classroom is a permitted use within the IF zone is a matter for the city to determine, Gissen said.

The estimated project will run between $1.7 million and $2 million depending on costs associated with construction broken down into phases. The Phase 1 budget will be about $1 million while Phase 2 will take up the remaining amount, DeFrancesco said.

He said the project has partial funding through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program program. In addition, funding is being sourced through several federal grant programs, with additional support from private foundations. Fundraising is still ongoing with matching grant opportunities and matching funds via private donors, he said.

“We are hopeful to break ground in 2026 with the project lasting one year, if there are no delays,” DeFrancesco said.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.