Located at one of the most highly traveled gateways into the City’s Central Business District, the former B & O Freight Station was one of the City’s most visible brownfields. In the late 1990s, the Redevelopment Authority and City officials began working to purchase the property from CSX Transportation, owner of the Freight Station. The deal finally came to fruition in 2005.

As part of the deal, the Redevelopment Authority purchased the former Freight Station and City officials signed a lease for the .341 acres on which it sits. The building’s purchase was funded by donations from local citizens, William & Jeanne McKelvey and Don Bird, and a grant from the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies.

An environmental assessment and remediation were conducted prior to demolition. The cleared site is set to be the home for Johnstown’s Gateway Greenspace Project. The Redevelopment Authority was awarded a $84,800 PennDOT Transportation Enhancement Grant and $49,200 Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Community Conservation Partnership Grant to fund the creation of a downtown greenspace. The Gateway Greenspace Project has transformed one of the City’s most highly visible brownfield sites into an aesthetically pleasing greenspace parklet and passive recreation area at the gateway to the downtown. Located along the Stonycreek River, the development of the Johnstown Gateway Greenspace works to restore our riverbanks to a natural setting, providing an ecological friendly site for native species to be returned to the area. The project is highlighted by planting of selected native shrubs and trees. Also planned for the site is an attractive “Welcome to Johnstown” arch, a flower garden, benches, lighting, and new walkways. The Johnstown Gateway Greenspace will be an integral piece of the Johnstown Open Space/Greenway Plan, and the Cambria County Greenway Plan.