EMBRACE MILLCREEK Comprehensive Plan
Millcreek Township, PA
wWHAT DOES IT TAKE TO STAY AHEAD OF TROUBLESOME TRENDS IN A STABLE SUBURBAN COMMUNITY?
SUMMARY
Millcreek Township is an inner-ring, lakefront suburb of Erie, Pennsylvania, that developed quickly after WWII. Despite relative stability during the Erie region’s decades of economic decline, demographic and economic reality has begun to catch up to Millcreek, along with the aging of a housing stock that, not too long ago, was considered “new.”
Among the most pressing planning issues in this project were keeping up with investments in aging public infrastructure, supporting business development in a community saturated with retail space, and enhancing the main gateway to the township’s crown jewel—Presque Isle State Park on the shores of Lake Erie.
The plan also featured analysis and recommendations related to strengthening Millcreek’s housing market and facilitating reinvestment in its residential neighborhoods and homes.
Setting Clear Priorities
While the data were clear about potential threats facing Millcreek's quality of life and public finances, setting the right course meant incorporating the community's core values and planning principles. Once core values are understood, and principles are established for decision making, community priorities (or focus areas here) become self evident.
APA 2019 AWARD
Embrace Millcreek won the 2019 Plan Award from the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Planning Association.
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