The eyesore that has become the closed Ligonier Beach along Route 30 could be converted into a spacious park for Ligonier Township and walking trail, according to plans township officials and residents viewed Thursday.
It could feature a splash pad, winter ice rink, an ice skating ribbon, fire pits and a pavilion that would be constructed over at least five years.
All it needs for the dreams that were on display for about 50 at the Ligonier Township Municipal Building is a lump of money — about $15.58 million, based on late 2025 estimates.
“It’s a very ambitious project. People love the outdoors stuff around here. People have been doing it for generations around here,” township resident Bill Pieringer said.
Mackin Engineers & Consultants of Pittsburgh, the engineering firm that created the master plan for Ligonier Beach after meeting local officials and residents, divided its revitalization into five phases.
In theory, each phase could be done within a year, but township officials said that would depend upon funding.
“We have plans and we have a path forward,” said Michael Strelic, township manager.
The first phase would involve clearing and excavating the 8.5-acre site. It also would entail renovating a 4,200-square-foot pavilion and building a foundation for a pond.
“I’m excited to see something get off the ground,” said Melissa Eller, president of the Friends of Ligonier Beach, a community group that raised $50,000 for the master plan.
A revitalized Ligonier Beach would be a draw for people to come to the area, Eller said.
It is good to see plans for a renovation of Ligonier Beach eight years after it closed, said township supervisor’s Chairman John Beaufort.
“It will do something good for the (Ligonier) Valley. It will be a little more recreation,” Beaufort said.
One thing for certain is the former Ligonier Beach pool — 48,000 square feet and 7 feet deep — is not going to be restored. The pool is in the flood plain of Loyalhanna Creek, which runs along the property and has flooded it at times. A rebuilt pool would have to be constructed above the height of the flood plain.
Even if the funding becomes available through government grants and foundations, Strelic said the municipality, with a $3 million budget, would have to expend money for paying for cleanup of such periodic flooding.
The township obtained the property in 2019 for $230,000 with money from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation in Latrobe.
The Ligonier Beach’s previous owners closed the pool and restaurant the previous year after flooding damaged both..
Ligonier’s Gallo family opened the business, originally known as Ligonier Valley Bathing Beach, in 1925.