{"id":211190,"date":"2026-06-05T03:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T03:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/211190\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T03:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T03:24:14","slug":"city-council-turned-its-back-on-a-shovel-ready-win-for-erie-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/211190\/","title":{"rendered":"City Council turned its back on a shovel\u2011ready win for Erie | Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Erie City Council voted 4-to-2 to reject<\/a> the conditional use permit for the bayfront market house, they did more than stall one promising project. They turned their backs on a rare chance to lift the entire community, and in the process, I believe they showed exactly how far some elected officials have drifted from the job they were sent to City Hall to do.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A rendering of the 27,000-square-foot market house being developed by Erie Events and planned for property near the former GAF Materials Corp. site on the city’s west bayfront. Here, the author explains why he believes Erie City Council’s vote to reject the fully vetted and funded project was short-sighted and deserves reconsideration.<\/p>\n

Let me be clear from the start: This was not some pie-in-the-sky scheme cooked up by outsiders. The market house project had been in the works for more than a decade. Erie Events, the public authority behind it, already had $14 million dollars lined up, including $9.5 million in fresh state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program money that Governor Josh Shapiro announced last fall after visiting the bayfront. The city of Erie Planning Commission and the Design Review Committee both signed off on the plans. The site, a former industrial brownfield near the west bayfront, was going to become a 27,000-square-foot indoor marketplace filled with local vendors, farmers markets, live music, family activities, and plenty of open public space. Also baked into the deal were 125 parking spots, benches, lighting, and green areas. It was ready to go, shovel-ready, and fully funded by money that did not come out of local taxpayers’ pockets.<\/p>\n

\"Colin<\/p>\n

Colin Russ<\/p>\n

Yet four council members \u2014 President Tyler Titus, Andre Horton, Jasmine Flores, and Marilyn Pol \u2014 said no. Their stated reasons boiled down to vague worries about whether the project would truly benefit the public and whether struggling residents would see enough return on investment. Horton put it plainly, arguing that citizens were not getting the payback they deserved in tough economic times. Pol added that too much bayfront development happens without regard for the people who live here. Flores talked about being careful with the deals we cut to bring projects in.<\/p>\n

The economic ripple effect<\/p>\n

Those concerns sound caring on the surface. Who could argue against protecting everyday Erie families? But dig just a little deeper and they fall apart under the weight of reality, in my view. Erie has wrestled for years with population loss, stubborn poverty rates, and a waterfront that too often feels like a beautiful backdrop rather than a working economic engine. The convention center next door already draws tens of millions of dollars in visitor spending every year. A year-round market house would have complemented that perfectly, giving locals fresh local goods, entertainment and gathering space while pulling in tourists who spend money at nearby hotels, restaurants and shops. Construction alone would have created immediate trades jobs with union and minority hiring goals written into the plans. Once open, it would support ongoing work for vendors, event staff and maintenance crews. The economic ripple effect from similar public markets in other Rust Belt cities has proven reliable, turning every public dollar into several more in local activity.<\/p>\n

Tax revenue question<\/p>\n

And let us address head-on two of the loudest criticisms that came up during the debate. First, some argued that because Erie Events is a tax-exempt public authority, the project would create no new tax revenue at all, especially when roughly one-third of city property already sits outside the tax rolls. That line of thinking sounds straightforward but it ignores how cities actually grow their revenue base. The authority itself may not pay property taxes on the building, true enough, yet the market house would have poured money into city coffers through sales taxes on everything bought at the vendors and markets through income taxes paid by the new workers hired for construction and operations, and through the surge in hotel and restaurant taxes from visitors who stay longer and spend more because of the added attractions.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This is an August 2010 photo of the demolition of buildings on the GAF property on Erie’s bayfront. In the background is the Bayfront Convention Center and the Sheraton Bayfront hotel. A majority of Erie City Council on May 20, 2026 voted to reject plans for a bayfront market house to be built on the GAF brownfield site. Here, the author argues the project, fully funded and vetted, would have added bayfront amenities for Erie residents, while also boosting the economy through increased bayfront tourism. He urges an appeal or reconsideration of the vote.<\/p>\n

The convention center proves the point every single year, generating millions in indirect taxes without the authority writing a property tax check. Right now, that brownfield site produces almost nothing in taxes anyway. Turning it into a vibrant hub does not shrink the tax base. It expands the overall economic activity that feeds it. The one-third exemption figure is real, but most of those properties are schools, parks, hospitals, and other public assets that deliver clear community value. Using that statistic to block a new public benefit project sets up a circular trap where nothing ever gets built because something else is already exempt. It is not fiscal responsibility. It is an excuse to do nothing.<\/p>\n

More: Erie City Council rejects bayfront market house zoning request<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Erie Events stepped in<\/p>\n

Second, critics suggested a private developer should have handled the project instead so the city could collect direct property taxes from it. On paper that might seem ideal. In practice, it misses the history of this very site. Private money walked away from this brownfield for more than a decade because the cleanup costs, the environmental risks, and the uncertain returns made it too risky without public help. Erie Events stepped in precisely to de-risk the deal with state grants and turn the land into something useful while still carving out space for private tenants and local vendors to operate and pay their own taxes. A purely private project might have maximized profit at the expense of the open public space, free events, and community focus that the approved plans required. Insisting on private-only development would have left us staring at the same empty lot we have had for years. The public authority route brought in outside money that private interests alone never delivered, and it still leaves room for private enterprise to thrive inside the marketplace.<\/p>\n

Why spurn hard-won state aid?<\/p>\n

By killing the permit, council members did not save anyone money. They simply walked away from outside investment that the state chose Erie to receive over dozens of other communities. That $9.5 million in state grants now sits in limbo. Inflation keeps climbing. Construction costs rise every month we wait. The 30-day window to appeal to court offers a narrow path forward, but even if the project survives the legal fight, the delay itself hands the city another black eye. Private partners who were ready to commit see the risk and think twice. Future state grants become harder to land when Harrisburg watches Erie shrug off money that was already approved.<\/p>\n

This vote also exposed a deeper failure in how these council members understand their role, in my view. They were elected to make decisions based on evidence, expert input, and the long-term health of the city, not to substitute personal hunches for the work of professional planners. The very bodies that council itself created \u2014 the Planning Commission and Design Review Committee \u2014 reviewed every detail and recommended approval. Public hearings were held. Conditions were negotiated to guarantee public access and community benefits. Yet four votes overruled all of that in favor of broad, unsupported claims about insufficient return on investment. No alternative plan for the site was offered. No data was presented showing this specific project would fail to deliver. It was simply not good enough for them in the moment.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The former GAF site, located along Erie’s bayfront adjacent to the Bayfront Convention Center, is pictured in this Dec. 9, 2013, file photo. The proposed bayfront market house was to be built on the site. Erie City Council voted to reject the project on May 20, 2026. Here, the author argues the vote was short-sighted and blocks a bayfront amenity that would offer fresh food, shopping and green space for local residents, and also boost the economy and tax base.<\/p>\n

Look at the inconsistency too. Weeks earlier, the same council approved a waterfront hotel project through the identical process. That development also sits on the bayfront and will change the skyline. Yet it sailed through. The only real difference here seems to be that this market house carried the name of a public authority and carried the explicit goal of serving everyday people rather than just overnight guests. If the worry was truly about overdevelopment or protecting citizens, why the selective outrage? It leaves the impression that decisions are driven more by politics than by consistent policy.<\/p>\n

More: New bayfront hotel approved despite concerns about public access<\/a><\/p>\n

Erie cannot afford this kind of short-sightedness. Our city has made real progress in recent years with bayfront parkway upgrades, new hotels, and a revitalization zone that is finally starting to attract attention. Projects like the market house are the next logical step, turning underused land into a place where families spend Saturday afternoons, where local makers sell their goods, and where visitors decide to stay an extra night. Rejecting it does not preserve some untouched waterfront ideal. It leaves a vacant grassy lot where blight and missed opportunity used to sit.<\/p>\n

The residents who showed up at hearings and spoke in favor of the project understood what was at stake. They saw the potential for jobs, for fresh food access, for simple joys like music on the water and a place to gather. Council owed those voices more than a polite hearing followed by a vote that ignored the experts and the funding already secured.<\/p>\n

In the end, this decision was not just a bad call on one development. It was a failure to do the core work of local government, which is to weigh risks and rewards honestly, to partner with outside resources when they align with community needs, and to choose progress over paralysis. Erie Events still has time to appeal. State leaders are watching. And the people of Erie deserve council members who will think beyond the next election cycle and actually deliver the kind of waterfront we have waited so long to see. Right now, I believe four of them fell short of that standard. The city will pay the price unless they find a way to reverse course.<\/p>\n

ColinRuss, of Erie, is an entrepreneur and member of the city of Erie’s Planning Commission<\/a>. He submitted this op-ed not on behalf of the Planning Commission but as a private citizen who advocates for a better Erie.<\/p>\n

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