Published: November 05, 2005 11:37 pm            

Kernville: Business owners confident efforts will succeed

Johnstown — At one time, Dr. John Aubrey would ride a trolley car into Kernville and marvel at the hustle and bustle amid its busy streets.

Those days are gone.

But when Aubrey ducks his head outside his Franklin Street office door these days, the mental picture that develops is the same one he saw during his childhood.

Only this time, he is envisioning Kernville’s transformation.

“When I was a boy, I would take a street car into Kernville and I remember Franklin Street being lined with businesses and beautiful trees,” the 63-year-old Aubrey said.

“They went the whole way through town, but they’re all gone now.

“I think I can see it happening again. But the city is going to have to put an effort into it.”

Longtime business owners throughout Kernville see a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the neighborhood’s redevelopment. Providing that bright spot is the proposed Greater Johnstown Regional Technology Complex planned for the former Sani-Dairy site.

For Kernville businesses still reeling from the loss of customers through attrition over the years, the redevelopment efforts hold the promise of increased traffic and an extended consumer base.

“Sani-Dairy employees were great customers of ours for many years,” said Brian Basile, who owns Pizza-Deli Six Pack at 500 Franklin St. “When it closed, we lost a sizable chunk of our customer base that we never recouped. Hopefully, the new tech complex will resupply us with those lost customers and perhaps even a greater number than we’ve ever had.”

Basile, whose family has owned Pizza-Deli for nearly 21 years, is so confident that he has begun plans to expand his operation. But he will not finalize any of those plans for about a year as he watches how redevelopment unfolds.

Other neighborhood business owners are curious about what the redevelopment plan will bring, and how soon.

One of the biggest concerns is whether new residential and entertainment locations will complement business growth. They are hopeful new living space and attractions will help the neighborhood avoid becoming an area that is largely vacant after 5 p.m.

“In our highly mobile society, you can’t always count on people living where they work,” Aubrey said.

“If we’re going to have this big development here, bringing all kinds of jobs into Kernville, we need to provide those people with nice residential options or they’re going to keep moving to the suburbs.”

Ron Repak, Johnstown Redevelopment Authority director, agrees that new housing must be part of the mix in order to make the process a success.

“We need some residential units, no doubt,” Repak said. “We need to find some properties that will enable us to create some modern housing that will attract those who work in Kernville to live there, as well. The problem is, unless you take some of these older, beautiful homes that need some substantial rehab and renovate them, there aren’t many housing options currently available.

“In addition, it’s got to be an attractive place to live. You have the War Memorial, (Pasquerilla) conference center and some restaurants nearby in downtown. But it’s going to take more. We need some more entertainment downtown in order for that take place.”

Jack Rupert, executive director of the non-profit charitable organization New Day Inc., said the shrinking residential base in the neighborhood is a particular concern to his organization.

New Day, which constructed a new facility in 2001 on South Street, offers services to at-risk youth and families.

He said less housing means fewer children and families who can easily take advantage of New Day’s programs.

But, Rupert said, new business development offers some positives for New Day, including greater exposure generated by new people coming to the neighborhood. And Rupert said the organization may have creative ways to establish new missions that will allow it to expand services.

“The only negative is, we see fewer family dwellings and fewer kids that can walk to New Day,” Rupert said.

“Maybe there will be new housing available. But if kids can’t walk here, it may eliminate them from being able to take part in our activities.”

The general outlook from longtime Kernville business owners is one of promise and hope. Even though they admit they have seen the same kind of initiatives fail in the past, this time around there is reason to have faith.

“It’s always sort of been an ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’ kind of thing,” Basile said.

“But you have to envision it, see it and then go get it. You have to get everyone on board, believing it can happen and it will happen.

“We’re firm believers it will happen this time around.”

        

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