Station Area Description

A renovation of Elizabethtown Station was completed through a successful public-private partnership that included multiple local and regional partners, including Elizabethtown Borough, PennDOT, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and Amtrak.
Parcels identified in the train station re-design were utilized to delineate the Station Area. Key property metrics within the ¼ mile Station Area are as follows:

• Total Acreage                   -     12.98 acres
• Total Parcels                     -     14
• Average Parcel Area          -     0.93 acres
• Total Assessment Value    -     $2,120,400
• Average Parcel Value         -     $151,457

There is considerable activity in and around the Station Area, which could affect future development and coordination initiatives.  That activity includes:

• The presence of established manufacturing and light industrial uses. The M&M Mars Candy Company manufactures Dove chocolate products at a 26-acre campus located to the immediate east of the train station. Industrial activity is not a complementary land use for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) because it typically generates a significant volume of single-purpose auto trips and is incompatible with residential development – a key ingredient for TOD. Adjacent to the M&M Mars plant on Brown Street are several smaller businesses that are best categorized as agribusiness and light industrial. These businesses, along with the rail spur serving the site, preclude station area development from moving farther north.
• Zoning Designations. About seven years ago, the Borough established a Mixed Use (MU) zoning district within its zoning ordinance to encourage a complementary mix of residential, commercial, and service uses that would serve as a transition between adjacent residential and industrial areas. The northern boundary of the area parallels the boundary of the MU zoning district.
• Overflow Parking. To address parking constraints at Elizabethtown Station, the Borough acquired two lots at the end of Wilson Avenue for use as an overflow and long-term parking lot. Construction of the parking lot and associated improvements (e.g., curbing, sidewalks, and ADA ramp) began in the spring of 2013. The Borough-owned lots form the eastern boundary of the Station Area. PennDOT contributed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds toward construction of the overflow parking lot, which opened to the public in August 2013. The 83-space lot nearly tripled the number of parking spaces at the station.
• Pedestrian Pathway. The western boundary of the Station Area follows the alignment of a planned pedestrian pathway that was designed to connect the train station to the downtown area. The accessway is part of Elizabethtown Borough's Pathway Connection Project, a comprehensive, multiyear effort to construct pedestrian and bicycle pathways throughout the community.
• Masonic Village. The 1,400-acre retirement community encompasses the land situated south of the rail lines. Portions of the site are located within the Borough's MU zoning district, which could conceivably open up some opportunities for transit-adjacent development. However, the rail lines represent a physical barrier to connectivity, while the low-density, rural orientation of Masonic Village diverges from TOD principles.