Future Gannon students are going to have a lot to experience with the Recreation Center modernization, a new building for the newly re-named School of Communication and the Arts and new programs being added to various schools. But Gannon’s not the only part of Erie that’s growing.

In November 2013, Scott Enterprises, a local hospitality company, announced plans to build an exciting space to live, work, shop and play right on Erie’s bayfront.

Harbor Place, which will be located on the northeast corner of State Street and Bayfront Parkway, will include hotels, a restaurant, condominiums, townhouses and apartments, parking garages, an outdoor ice-skating rink, and space for offices and retail. These are planned to all be connected by skywalks across Bayfront Parkway to State Street and directly to UPMC Hamot as well, allowing visitors easy and safe access.

The land for the project is currently empty with the exception of a smokestack, which developers plan to turn into a lighthouse, a beacon for the space. The project promises to provide both employment and entertainment alike for the Erie and Gannon communities.

Though a completion date has yet to be determined, the project holds enormous potential.

More information can be found at the websites of the architecture company who is working on the project: Weber Architecture or Weber, Murphy, Fox Inc.