Long-awaited Oakmont parking lot project scheduled to begin in June

Stephanie Grimes is tired of looking at the vacant lot along Oakmont’s Allegheny Avenue, where an Exxon station once stood.

It’s been five years since plans were announced to convert the lot into much-needed public parking and Grimes, a borough resident, is frustrated because, she says, she can’t get answers from borough officials about when the project will start or where the money to pay for it is.

The Exxon station was razed two years ago, leaving the vacant lot.

“The lot is overgrown, and no work has been developed on site. I would like to know the plan,” Grimes said. “What’s the status? Anyone I asked wasn’t sure about the grants. Where’s the money? And what’s the plan for it? The community needs the parking, and we’re sick of looking at it and we want some transparency.”

But Grimes’ questions may soon be answered.

Construction is slated to begin in June, according to Ray Rogers, Oakmont Community Foundation president. The foundation is the property’s owner, having purchased the lot at 507 Allegheny Avenue in 2019. It was purchased specifically to be used as a parking lot.

Rogers said he can’t give estimates on the total cost of the project because the bidding process for the project hasn’t been completed.

“This will not be known until bids are received. We will develop a new budget estimate once the final design is approved,” Rogers wrote via email Thursday. “We will be bidding on various options so that we match the scope of the funding we have.”

Rough road

New plans for development of the parking lot have been given to Oakmont officials to review, but the road to getting the project approved has been bumpy.

In the spring of 2021, foundation officials and borough stakeholders agreed to expand the scope of the project to include pedestrian improvements and landscape elements to match nearby Allegheny River Boulevard.

But, in 2022, Oakmont Council rejected that plan because that proposal required that Advance Way, an alley between the proposed parking lot and the former Chelsea Grill building, be shifted 20 feet to facilitate traffic flow. Rogers said, after attempting several revisions to address council’s concerns, the foundation scrapped the plan.

At that time, Borough Manager Scott Fodi, via a letter to the foundation, expressed the borough’s qualms with the plan, saying borough council members disagreed with vacating Advance Way and conveying it to a private property owner even if the alley would remain open to the public.

Fodi expressed frustration that some residents are holding the borough responsible for the lack of progress.

“People think it’s our project. It’s not,” Fodi said of the borough. “We do not have control of it. We’ve never owned the land.

“We have to oversee the construction from a municipal standpoint, like any other land development or subdivision,” Fodi said.

He also addressed environmental concerns, including rumors of asbestos from the former gas station.

“That property was abated well before the foundation took ownership of it,” he said.

Moving forward

The foundation now is working with PennDOT to obtain a required highway occupancy permit, said Rogers.

Brian Clark of Harrison, a volunteer consultant for the foundation, said the project entails more than just building a parking lot.

Additional components of the project, he said, include replacing disabled persons ramps, installing stormwater management systems, implementing changes in traffic flow to Advance Way, construction of new sidewalks, relocating utilities, installing new pavers and bricks, and installing lighting and landscaping to complement the existing architecture and features of Allegheny River Boulevard.

The most recent land development plans submitted to the borough show that, if completed, the asphalt lot would offer 42 parking spaces. It would change the traffic pattern along Advance Way from two-way to one-way, heading from Allegheny Avenue toward the Allegheny River, according to Fodi.

“They just need to do the development they promised and were given state and county dollars for and allow the community to move on,” Grimes said.

And she isn’t the only one frustrated by the delays.

Oakmont businessman John Keefe, who owns the Chelsea Grill building next door, says delays in the parking lot project are affecting his plans for the restaurant.

Keefe said the stalled renovations to Chelsea Grille, slated to become a Mexican-themed eatery, is due to the absence of crucial information pertaining to the surrounding infrastructure and developments.

As a restaurateur, Keefe said, it’s imperative to have a comprehensive understanding of factors such as traffic flow, parking availability and any potential changes to the area’s layout, such as expansions or eliminations of roads.

“I’m eager to advance this project and continue my contributions to Oakmont but, without the borough’s cooperation and inclusion, it’s proving to be an uphill battle.”

Grant funding

The foundation initially paid $500,000 for the property in 2019. It then used money received in 2020 from a Multimodal Transportation Fund grant of just over $1 million to cover the purchase cost and provide money to help pay for the project itself.

The grant came through the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

But the project delays meant the grant funding, too, had to be extended. So far, the state granted three extensions of the grants, with the latest date for spending the money pushed ahead to March 2025. If the money hasn’t been spent by then, the foundation would have to seek another extension or it could be forced to pay the money back to the state.

Rogers said the foundation will be sending an email newsletter to Oakmont residents in the near future.

“That’s a start to transparency,” Grimes said, “and I look forward to seeing what that newsletter entails. But it’s about two years too late.”