The former Westinghouse Research and Technology Park in Churchill borough could soon become a walkable mixed-use development.
Commonwealth Commercial Real Estate presented an early rendering of the project, which it is calling Legacy Crossings, at Monday’s Churchill Borough Council meeting. Plans show wholesale and retail grocery stores, restaurants, a gas station, parkland, a town center, medical offices and residential developments.
“We want this to be walkable,” DeLuca told the council and local residents. “We don’t want this to be auto-driven.”
Commonwealth Commercial Real Estate had previously advertised a portion of the site for use as a soundstage for films, though the website associated with that plan now appears to be inactive.
One welcome piece of news for some residents: DeLuca confirmed to TribLive that the plan for Legacy Crossings does not include a data center.
Churchill solicitor Gavin Robb said the borough was considering zoning amendments that could preclude some site uses including data centers, vape shops and tattoo parlors. Robb said the borough wanted to “get out in front” of a situation akin to the one in Springdale, where the borough’s council approved a data center over residents’ objections, citing local law.
The borough is considering other zoning amendments that would limit the size and setback distance of buildings to further preempt data-center construction within the borough. A hearing on the proposed amendments is scheduled for May 4.
That could be welcome news to some residents who opposed plans dating to 2021 that would have seen Amazon construct a large distribution center on the property. Amazon’s plans drew loud outcry from locals during marathon hearings and were eventually withdrawn in 2022.
Local leaders said the Legacy Crossings development could be a massive boon to the borough’s tax base. The Westinghouse site has sat vacant since the late 1990s.
“This is obviously still very much a work in progress,” DeLuca said, noting that the site would still need extensive grading work and demolition of the nearly 1 million square feet of former Westinghouse buildings. Commonwealth says it plans markers to commemorate the site’s history.