The Gettysburg Station Redevelopment Project
During the 1800s the 2+ acre “Gettysburg Station” site was home to hardware stores, lumberyards and other commercial uses that needed rail service to transport goods and materials. The station, built in 1858, was the western terminus for the rail service. Warehouses on North Stratton Street shipped farm products to Baltimore. Jubal Early’s troops burned some of the rail cars during their raid of June 1863. The area was the site of significant action during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Abraham Lincoln arrived at what is now the Lincoln Train Station the day before delivering the world famous Gettysburg Address. The station served as a field hospital, and 15,000 wounded soldiers were transported home via this rail line. The Lincoln Train Station is listed in the National Register Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District.
By the early 2000’s there were a few modest buildings on the North Stratton Street side of the site that housed the homeless shelter, and a books and antiques shop on Foth Alley. These buildings were demolished when commercial development on the site (the Reddi project) seemed like it was going to happen. An abandoned gas station faced Carlisle Street.
The York-Adams Transportation Authority received federal funding to raze the gas station and build a sheltered bus station, including the only handicap accessible public restrooms on Carlisle and Baltimore Streets. The Transit Station opened in 2013. Much care was taken by the community, particularly the Historic Architectural Review Board and the Borough Council, to make it architecturally compatible with the Lincoln Train Station. Potential future links to the vacant property behind it were shown on the site plan.
As a result of the demolitions, there was now a County-owned 2.4 acre vacant site to the east of the transit station that could be redeveloped. The building heights in the zoning ordinance at the time were set at 45 feet consistent with the rest of the Borough. This was reflective of the predominance of two- to three-story structures built during the formative period of Gettysburg architecture during the 18th and 19th century, when pedestrian and horse-drawn travel was the mode. The community recognized the importance of an authentic streetscape to maintaining the integrity of the visitor experience, and thus, the local economy.
Determining that there was a need to develop the site, beginning in 2017, Borough staff worked with Adams County Office of Planning and Development to draft an ordinance amendment entitled Residential Office Revitalization (ROR). Starting with a base height of 48 feet, additional height was allowed in exchange for a menu of incentives for what were considered improvements. Moving the transit station and restrooms to North Stratton Street meant 12 additional feet in height. Space for the Inner Loop Bike Trail meant 12 additional feet. Having a certain percentage of interior parking could earn another 24 feet. The maximum building height was set at 72 feet, plus another 12 for mechanicals (totaling 84 feet.)
The Borough Council consideration of the ROR zoning ordinance amendment was extremely contentious. The Gettysburg National Military Park expressed concerns regarding damage to the authentic streetscape that is so important to the Gettysburg experience. Gary Shaffer, a local architect and Chairman, Gettysburg Borough HARB, said in a letter dated August 8, 2018, to Susan Naugle, President of Borough Council, “It is critical to the success to allow an increased density, but that should NOT be achieved through higher buildings, which has the potential for major detrimental impact.”…”These increased building heights should not be written into the zoning ordinance as a right or special exception.” He and roomfuls of citizens tried to protect Gettysburg from what would likely be a permanent defilement of the quality of heritage tourism and the everyday experience of residents.
Station Project – Vote on incentive based extended height
12/10/2018
Station Project starts at 35:00
On December 10, 2018, the ordinance was passed by a 4-3 vote of Borough Council, believing that additional height was the only way to attract a developer to build on that site, and that development would result in financial benefits to the Borough, outweighing the damaging results of any such construction.
The original concept was to build a hotel. A developer from Staten Island, New York, wanted frontage on Carlisle Street, so the Transit Station would be a casualty. The Transit Authority was a willing seller, apparently wanting to divest itself of the building and go with a canopy mode, instead. The Transit Station has not yet been purchased by the developer and is still owned by the Transit Authority. The remaining 2.4 acres to the east was purchased by the developer for one million dollars.
Beginning in 2023, the developer began the process of getting a mixed retail/restaurant and residential project approved. He claimed it would be too cumbersome (expensive) to construct in the prescribed manner, so there were Special Exceptions and variances granted by the Zoning Hearing Board.
In July, 2024, the developer went before the Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB), showing contemporary urban-style buildings several stories taller than most of the surrounding structures, and design/materials that were considered “alien” to the adjacent neighborhood by officials and residents present at the meeting. We now believe construction of this project would have an irreparable impact on the historic landscape, visitor experience, local businesses, and quality of life for residents.
2024 Rezoning Effort
The Gettysburg Borough Planning Commission is currently reviewing a draft comprehensive rezoning ordinance prepared by a hand-picked task force, Borough staff, and a consultant. The draft seeks to maintain the extended height concept on the east side of Carlisle Street, plus incorporate nine acres on the west side of Carlisle Street for redevelopment. The combined areas would be called the Revitalization zone. The extended height is still controversial, due to the potential impacts of 72-foot-tall buildings on the historic character of the borough.