Altoona Redevelopment Authority aims to recruit Penn State Altoona students

Building condition analysis work not paid, not offering academic credit

The staff of the city Redevelopment Authority is trying to recruit Geographic Information Systems students from Penn State Altoona to help the authority meet one of the requirements for an Urban Redevelopment Area that would comprise Juniata's downtown, a wider section of the city centered on the tracks through the main downtown as far as 28th Street; and the Knickerbocker rowhomes.

The students would analyze the exterior condition of commercial buildings in those areas, providing information to complement an analysis of residential buildings done by consultant czb a couple years ago, according to Eric Luchansky, the city's community development director.

Having broached the idea with a leader of the GIS department at the college, Luchansky has identified one student willing to undertake the work so far.

That work would be unpaid and would not provide academic credit, but it could be a resume-builder for grad school, providing "GIS experience in the redevelopment area," Luchansky said.

He's meeting with the interested student next week.

The work would take about eight weeks at eight hours per week, Luchansky estimates.

It would require evaluation of the condition of roofs, foundations, facades and windows, as well as sidewalks, and information on the age of buildings, Luchansky said.

The collection of such data is one of the first steps the authority will need to take in creating a URA, he said.

Within URAs, redevelopment authorities can initiate Tax Increment Financing, which enables them to use projected increases in property tax revenues to fund current infrastructure improvements; they can readily conduct site preparation and blight remediation; readily obtain blighted property for redevelopment; readily customize planning and zoning rules to allow for appropriate redevelopment; and they can sell or lease ground directly to private developers to meet URA goals; as well as readily enter into public-private development partnerships, according to online sources.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.