A plan to redevelop a former Lititz area pizza restaurant into a commercial building featuring a tower evoking a 15th-century Bohemian castle is getting a $3 million boost from a state-sponsored capital grant program.
DTL Partners LLC, a company led by Dan Cicala of Lititz-based construction management firm Fidevia, plans to tear down the 4,300-square-foot La Piazza Italian Restaurant & Bar at 800 Lititz Pike. In its place, the firm will build an 8,500-square-foot building with room for several tenants.
The planned brick-and-stone building will include a tower modeled after Castle Litice, a fortress in the modern-day Czech Republic that inspired the Moravian founders of Lititz when naming the town.
The redevelopment along Lititz Pike in Warwick Township is one of 16 redevelopment projects in Lancaster County set to receive a combined $40 million through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
Gov. Josh Shapiro announced funding for the projects last week. Three of the projects, totaling $18.25 million, were announced by Shapiro in March.
State legislators recommend projects for RACP grants, which are awarded at the governor’s discretion. The projects are authorized in the Redevelopment Assistance section of a Capital Budget Itemization Act and are intended to have a regional or multijurisdictional impact while generating substantial increases or maintaining current levels of employment, tax revenue or other economic activity.
RACP projects are state-funded projects that cannot obtain primary funding under other state programs.
A state timeline for the program notes that grant funds are typically released 19 to 24 months after applicants accept the award—a process that includes a state consultant assigned to each project.
Other projects awarded grants include:
Thaddeus Stevens College Almshouse, Lancaster Township: $4 million to renovate the circa-1801 Lancaster Almshouse for a campus expansion. Grant request: $6 million.
Ecore Corporate Office, Manheim Township: $3.4 million to redevelop a historic building for a corporate headquarters on the company’s campus. Grant request: $3.4 million.
Arconic Warehouse Expansion, Manheim Township: $2 million to expand a warehouse and replace water pipes. Grant request: $5,339,999.
Crossings at Penn Ridge, Millersville Borough: $2 million for site work for a planned 350-unit mixed-use housing development at routes 741 and 999. Grant request: $3.5 million.
Ephrata Electric Division Facility, Ephrata Borough: $2 million for site work and construction of a new municipal building for the borough’s electric division, which supplies electricity to residents. Grant request: $2 million.
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Mount Joy Township Municipal Complex, Mount Joy Township: $1,043,000 to consolidate equipment and storage areas at the township’s municipal property. Grant request: $1,043,000.
Extruded Aluminum Manufacturing Facility, Leacock Township: $1 million to support expansion of an extruded aluminum manufacturing facility, including new construction, equipment and site improvements. Grant request: $2 million.
F&M Wellness Center II, Lancaster city: $1 million to build a new strength, conditioning and wellness center at Franklin & Marshall College. Grant request: $5 million.
Vintage Acquisitions II, Paradise Township: $1 million for construction of a truck garage for B&D Builders and a storage facility for Mid Atlantic Timberframes. Grant request: $3.5 million.
Penn State Health LMC, East Hempfield Township: $750,000 to create three Level II private rooms in the neonatal intensive care unit. Grant request: $2 million.
College Avenue Redevelopment II, Lancaster city: $400,000 for restoration of the parking deck at West End Place, an apartment complex at 217 College Ave. inside the former St. Joseph Hospital. Grant request: $2.25 million.
NAWCC Museum Renovation II, Columbia Borough: $250,000 for a new HVAC system at the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Museum. Grant request: $250,000.
Previously announced grants:
GSK Marietta, East Donegal Township: $9 million for renovation of existing and vacant space for a new vaccine plant. Grant request: $18 million.
Clair Global Campus Expansion II, Warwick Township: $5 million for construction and expansion of Clair Global’s headquarters. Grant request: $25 million.
Jura Hospitality Center III, Rapho Township: $4.25 million to construct a new service and hospitality center building for Jura Hospitality, a Swiss maker of coffee machines and equipment. Grant request: $4.25 million.