Plans

2019 Recommendations for Zoning Updates and Architectural Design Guidelines

The Downtown Hershey Association is providing funding support for a planning study being prepared by Urban Design Associates, a national planning firm based in Pittsburgh. Derry Township is contracting with the firm to prepare the study that will result in recommendations for updates to the Derry Township Zoning Ordinance and architectural design guidelines in Downtown Hershey.

View the August 20, 2019 presentation here.

 

ChocolateTown Square East

The Downtown Hershey Association design committee is working on exciting plans for ChocolateTown Square East. We’ll be sharing conceptual plan updates on this page and will be discussing them at our Downtown Hershey Association Board Meetings. The public is invited and encouraged to attend these meetings to provide input on the design for this important downtown amenity.

With help from our partners at Derck & Edson, we created our Downtown Hershey Master Plan in January 2015. The designs shown here are the visual representation of what we heard thousands of people voice during our public meetings, surveys, and listening sessions. The conceptual drawings are not intended to portray exact details but instead reveal the many opportunities that exist within the fabric of Downtown Hershey.

Pronio’s Market

Planning for new development opportunities is an important aspect of the process, but celebrating and enhancing iconic local businesses and cultivating their continued growth and development is equally important. Pronio’s is a community anchor where residents meet routinely. The conceptual plan depicts several additions to expand that community role by providing a new plaza with seasonal landscaping, ample space for public gathering, and façade improvements to the building.

A Pleasant Surprise at Devon

A pocket park at Devon provides a tranquil space along a busy street with amazing view of the Kissing Tower and Hersheypark right around the corner from the town square.

Streetscape

Inviting plantings of flowers and low shrubs along a wider and more interesting sidewalk with gentle low lights along Chocolate Avenue provides pedestrian safety, separation from traffic and protection from storm water that would replace grass and unattractive cement.

Signs and Sidewalks

Sidewalks along Chocolate and Caracas Avenues would be straightened, widened and enahnced with interesteing accents to encourage and permit easy and pleasant walks by pedestirans. Signs would use heritage materials to anchor them and present an attrractive, repetitive and pleasing view.

Caracas and Linden

Representing a convergence of residential and commercial development patterns, Caracas Avenue is an important transitional corridor within the core downtown. Current and future adaptive reuse of residential structures enriches the mixed use character. To promote pedestrian safety, walkability, and visual continuity, the plan proposes brick-patterned crosswalks, pedestrian-scaled signage, and additional street trees along appropriate portions of Caracas.

150 West Chocolate Avenue

Much of West Chocolate Avenue is spatially characterized by single family structures with consistently deep front yard setbacks. One suggested architectural approach includes a new patio and signage which will better engage the pedestrian and create a more animated and vibrant streetscape environment, by providing outdoor gathering and dining space within the core community. Within the public realm, landscape enhancements are proposed to enhance the water quality of stormwater runoff.

Pedestrian Underpass on Chocolate

Bare white cement is softened with warm eye-catching sidewalk materials and flowers, along with wrought iron fencing inspired by the fence at the Community Center designed by Mr. Hershey.