Investing in our community via the Northwest Gateway

The Northwest Gateway, the historic urban redevelopment project spearheaded by Lancaster General Health and Franklin & Marshall College and a consortium of public and private partners, made significant progress in 2015.

The 50-acre, $90 million project north of Harrisburg Avenue in Lancaster City, occurred in two phases over more than a decade. The first entailed a 47-acre tract that once housed an Armstrong World Industries flooring plant, demolishing the plant and cleaning up the site. That phase was completed in October 2009. This year marked the completion of the project’s second phase, which involved the relocation and environmental remediation of an adjacent 30-acre section of a Norfolk Southern rail yard along Harrisburg Avenue, creating a contiguous parcel for future development.

A street linking Liberty Street with College Avenue opened in late 2015, establishing an essential traffic connection between the city’s northern and western neighborhoods. High-voltage power lines that traversed the former rail yard were buried underground to facilitate development. LG Health plans to use a portion of the property for future long-term development of health services for the region. The remaining portion will be used by F & M College to enhance student life by creating, relocating and upgrading athletic venues and recreation spaces. F & M College plans to establish an athletic precinct that eventually will become home to Shadek Stadium, a multipurpose facility expected to see action for Diplomats football, soccer and lacrosse.