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restoration by the Lepley, Engleman
& Yaw law firm with anchoring the
distressed area. But the retired professor
and his wife, Deb, also took on restoration
projects of their own at four historic
buildings in this neighborhood: their
magnificent home on the corner of Third
and Academy Streets, and three others
which house apartments.
For artisan woodworker Jonathan
Kohr ’97, one of Bogle’s former students,
the neighborhood’s new identity became
the namesake for his new business, Old
City Restoration. Kohr himself saved
the last "Dutch roof" building in the city
from the wrecking ball, re-carving the
rotted corbels in the eaves, rebuilding the
original windows and designing custom
knives to shape and match the antique
millwork inside and out.
Others were paying attention too,
including one Seattle-based harbinger
of successful redevelopment: Albarano
was able to attract Starbucks Coffee (and,
later, Panera Bread) to his Basin Street
lots. Meanwhile, Marywood University’s
school of architecture used the tabula rasa
of vacant lots at Old City’s epicenter as a
laboratory for an adaptive-reuse studio
design seminar, spawning a dozen creative
and viable ideas of what could be.
During that same time period, the
College underwent a campus-wide
strategic planning process, with sizable
focus on a commitment to “deepen its role
as a citizen of the City.” The document
settled on a lynchpin strategy to “soften
the campus borders” using the following
tactics:
Prioritize community engagement
when creating spaces and facilities.
Engage in the Old City planning
process to redefine the College’s
southern border as a destination for
the local and college communities alike.
Invest in city spaces that advance the
educational and strategic interests of
the College, especially south of campus.
Consider relocating the art gallery or
campus store to a more accessible
location, and examine partnerships
with businesses and Penn College.
Re-imagine the location of athletic
venues, health and wellness facilities,
and student housing adjacent to other
off-campus destinations.
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LYCOMING COLLEGE 2017 SPRING MAGAZINE
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