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The WHITEHALL ROAD REGIONAL PARKLANDS
in Ferguson Township
(Map of parklands)
A $159,000 state grant was announced in 2006 to assist the COG in the purchase from Penn State of
a 75-acre tract for future parklands near the intersection of Blue Course Drive and
Whitehall Road. That purchase occurred on 30 May 08 and the parklands are now jointly owned by the Centre Region COG and Ferguson Township.
• In total, the 75-acre parkland acquisition cost $249,506.24. In 2005 the lands were officially appraised at $15,000 per acre; the purchase price was $3,077 per acre.
• The PA DCNR grant provided $159,000 of that amount (using the PA Keystone Fund as the source).
• Ferguson Township provided the balance of $90,506.24
On 21 Apr 08, the COG was notified that a $40,000 grant application
to prepare a Master Site Plan for this site was approved by the state.
A selection process then got underway for a consulting firm to prepare the plan (see below).
WHITEHALL ROAD Parkland - Consultant Selection Process
Scope of Work / Request For Proposals (PDF, 0.25 MB) for potential consulting firms.
UPDATE 30 Apr 09: Thirteen firms submitted proposals; the proposals were reviewed and evaluated.
A summary of the
quotations submitted is available HERE (67 KB, PDF format).
UPDATE 10 Jul 09: Based upon the proposals submitted, a committee of 4 elected officials and 3 Municipal Managers selected the following four firms for interviews:
- Environmental Planning & Design
- Simone Collins Inc.
- YSM Landscape Architects
- Pashek Associates
The Regional Park Planning Committee will conduct those interviews and then make a recommendation to the COG General Forum.
UPDATE 17 Jul 09: The entire Regional Park Planning Committee interviewed the four firms and recommended to the COG Park Capital Commitee on 16 Jul 09 that the firm of Pashek Associates be retained at the not-to-exceed price of $58,810 plus $3,000 for Option #1 Soils Investigation.
UPDATE 27 Jul 09: The COG General Forum unanimously approved the recommendation of the COG Parks Capital Committee to engage Pashek Associates. The Master Site Plan will include both the 75-acre tract and the adjacent 25-acre tract (for future parklands)
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WHITEHALL ROAD Parkland - Master Plan Process
| • The data collected by Master Site Planning Process in 2008 & 2009 for the Oak Hall Regional Parklands from meetings, surveys and interviews is also being used to guide this plan. Click HERE to review that information. |
• CLICK HERE to review the 3 Concept Plans posted for comments. |
 • You helped plan a Regional Park!
Park Planning Hearing #1 was held on for
Wednesday, 21 Oct 2009, 7-9:00 PM
Residents were invited to help guide the development of the Master Site Plan for the new regional park (75 acres) off Whitehall Road near Blue Course Drive by attending the Park Planning Hearing on Wednesday, 21 Oct 09, 7:00-9:00 PM at the Centre Region COG Forum Room, 2643 Gateway Drive, State College, PA. This plan is intended to complement the Master Site Plan for the Oak Hall regional parklands. |
Public Hearing Documents (for 21 Oct 09) |
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 • The Regional Parks Planning Committee met on Monday, 7 Dec 2009 to hear an update from the landscape architects on their work since the Planning Hearing held in October. Based on comments made at that meeting and received since that time, the first "Master Site Plan" was presented for comments. The draft Master Site Plan has proposed the following facilities:
- Diamond-shaped Sportfields (5) for softball or baseball, sized for youth and adult play
- Rectangular Sportfields (11) for soccer, football, lacrosse, rugby, ultimate frisbee, field hockey
- 2 Core Service Areas with picnic pavilions, playground areas and restrooms
- Tennis Complex (12 courts total)
- 3 parking areas with drop-off zones
- Community Garden area
- Dog Park area
- Preserved woodlot
- Perimeter walking path
- Parks Maintenance Area and Tree Nursery
- A Trailhead for the Musser Gap Bikeway / Greenway
- An emphasis on incorporating sustainability for all park facilities.
Review the details of Draft Plan Version #1 HERE.
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The 2nd COMMUNITY MEETING on the draft Master Site Plan for
WHITEHALL ROAD REGIONAL PARK
was held on 23 Feb 2010.
Draft Plan Version #2 (shown below) of the proposed Master Site Plan was presented and discussed. 81 individuals attended.
Whitehall Road Regional Parklands
Draft Plan Version #2: Click HERE to view the large-scale plan (PDF 2.7 MB)
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LAYOUT PLAN Proposed for Endorsement
On 28 Jun 2010, the proposed Layout Plan for the Whitehall Road Regional Parkland was approved by the COG General Forum. The Layout Plan was recommended by the COG Regional Parks Planning Committee on 8 Jun 2010 and will permit the completion of the draft Master Site Plan Report during July.
The Layout Plan is available HERE (PDF, 2.8 MB). (In Adobe Reader, click on View, Rotate, Clockwise.) |
Draft "MASTER SITE PLAN REPORT" Released
Whitehall Road Regional Parklands
Updated 23 July 2010
On Monday, 26 Jun 2010, the Regional Park Planning Committee will present the draft Master Site Plan Report to the COG General Forum (7:30 PM in the COG Bldg. Forum Room). During the next month each municipality will be asked to provide comments on the draft - for action at the General Forum meeting on 23 Aug 2010.
The 117-page "No Appendix" version of the draft report is available HERE (5 MB PDF).
To reduce the file size, this version of the draft report does not contain the appendix documents.
The full-version (328 pages) of the draft report is available HERE (18.5 MB PDF).
This version of the draft report contains the appendix documents. |
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Return to the Regional Park Introduction Page
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