photoThis week Mordecai and Pilot Mill neighborhood leaders met with representatives from William Peace University and Property Manager TradeMark Properties to talk about the next steps in Peace’s acquisition of the Seaboard shopping center.

Some short-term ideas include organizing community events, landscaping,  signage and parking lot improvements. In the longer term, parking is expected to become a larger issue as more customers visit the center.

Peace University plans to begin soliciting proposals for a master planning process in January that would include neighborhood input and participation.  The process is expected to take 8-9 months.  There was also some discussion about working with city officials to expand the planning process to encompass the Peace-Person-Seaboard areas.

The initial fears about the future of Seaboard Station appear to have calmed down, as Peace University has stated that the property would not be used for athletic fields or college dormitories and that current merchant leases would be honored.

It comes as good news to nearby neighborhoods that a master planning process is moving forward and that all stakeholders have the opportunity to be included.