After McCandless Crossing, What's the Next Big Development for North Allegheny Area?

With the plans for McCandless Crossing  complete, and construction well underway, planners in McCandless are eyeing another large parcel of land of redevelopment.

Rave Cinemas, Trader Horn , and the former Sun Books  occupy 42.7 acres of land bordered by Blazier Drive, McKnight Road, and Pine Creek, according to the Allegheny County real estate web site .

Once the new Cinemark Theater  opens in McCandless Crossing, Bruce Betty, McCandless Land Use Administrator, expects Rave Cinemas to close.

"Even if it's not going to be able to function as a theater, it's possible it could function as something else," said Betty. "The problem is that its 100 percent in the flood plain. So anything that gets built there is going to have to get raised out of the flood plain."

The former Sun Books, which is above the flood plain, has been vacant for several years and is also ripe for redevelopment.

"We're in process of redeveloping our ordinance. We would like to see a unified development or at least have developers cooperate to redevelop that whole area between Trader Horn and the theater," Betty said. "We'd like to see some green space put in, we'd like to see the creek be used as an amenity rather than be seen as a detriment."

What would you like to see happen once Rave Cinemas moves out? Share your ideas in the comments box below.

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