The first community input meeting for the Urban Village Revitalization Plan was held last night.

The meeting is the first of a three-phase plan that aims to revitalize the Urban Village neighborhood that lies west of Atherton Street. The plan is to fix up dilapidated homes, bring new business to the area and create a stronger, permanent resident population in the area.

The crowd of about 50 included students, property owners in the neighborhood and residents of adjacent neighborhoods.

Keith Weaver from EDSA, a consultant on the project, outlined the three-phase plan for the area.

Phase one includes reaching a consensus on how to revitalize the area. Phase two deals with preparing a revitalization and implementation plan. The third phase is implementation of the plan.

Weaver said it will be important to create a walkable community, a link between the borough and the Urban Village and bring unique business to the area. Many of those in attendance said they would like to see more restaurants in the neighborhood.

Weaver said some of the challenges to the project are the lack of home ownership in the neighborhood, the lack of property owner interest to change and the fact that Atherton Street is a barrier between Urban Village and downtown.

He added some goals of the plan are to attract new business and retain existing ones, blend with Penn State's proposed expansion of west campus and reinforce the aesthetics that are prevalent throughout the Urban Village neighborhood.

Zoë Boniface, design review board liaison to the planning commission, said she thinks the beautiful structures in the neighborhood are disappearing.

"The Urban Village has some of the most beautiful buildings in town and they are rotting away and burning up," Boniface said.

Local resident Tracey Olexa, said she feels some of the student housing is in such bad shape because property owners do not do much to maintain their properties.

"When you move into something that's not cared for, there's not as much motivation to care for the property," Olexa said.

President of the Off Campus Student Union Dave Williams said the Urban Village feels disconnected from a social network of downtown. He added that crossing Atherton Street is horrendous, and several others voiced their agreement.

Resident and business owner Andy Zangrilli said the possibility of a pedestrian barrier could be created to ensure safety when crossing the streets.

The social environment of the Urban Village also was discussed, as many expressed concern that the neighborhood is predominantly known for numerous house parties on the weekends.

Williams said structures in the neighborhood are in need of improvements.

"The housing has a lot of potential, and the architecture adds character, but it needs to be fixed up," Williams said.

Urban Village Steering Committee Chairman Rich Kalin said the fact that Penn State has pushed alcohol off campus and out of the fraternities and the large amount of college-aged males that live in the Urban Village have contributed to the neighborhood's partying reputation.

Kalin jokingly said, "They should not allow anymore men to come to Penn State."

Boniface said that there could be solutions to the problems of having too many students grouped together in the neighborhood, which leads to a partying atmosphere.

"A way to potentially have college students act like good neighbors is to not have the students ghettoized together," she said referring to the population density of some areas of the Urban Village. "We should spread them out among us and make them part of the neighborhood."

Williams said that more small business should be attracted to the neighborhood instead of large chains, and that more parks and green space should be created as well. There was also discussion of bringing affordable housing, housing for senior citizens and CATA bus stops to the Urban Village neighborhood.

The borough plans to have another community input meeting sometime in December.