Dormont Restaurateurs Discuss Cochran Plan

Discussions about an expansion plan proposed by are under way, and local business owners are voicing points of both concern and support for the proposed project.

Restaurants and other businesses in the 3200 block of West Liberty Avenue could be affected by , in that there could be changes to public parking arrangements if the plan is approved.

At this stage, by , and is still in a discussion phase. Business owners, residents and Dormont Council members have been involved in those discussions.

The plan proposed by #1 Cochran in February is attached to this article in PDF format. Possible parking changes are the main concern for local business owners.

“The possibility of losing the parking lot across the street would be hard on me because my customers do park there,” said Joe DeMarco, who owns . “It’s already tough to park. It’s tough for business owners who want to expand.”

DeMarco said overall, he thinks the proposals being discussed would be good for Dormont. He’d prefer to have a parking lot immediately across from his business, but if a parking garage is built down the street instead, he said that would be sufficient.

The problem, he said, is that he thinks a parking garage could be five or 10 years down the road, depending on the cost and the amount of money the borough would have to contribute to the project.

Joe D’Amico, who owns , said if the new plan affects the customer’s ability to park near his business, he would either close the restaurant or change the format to a less formal setting.

As a restaurant, the business is adaptable, he said. He’s also considered valet parking for the restaurant, but said traffic at the intersection would make stopping a car on the street dangerous.

D'Amico said he doesn’t have much hope for either the parking garage or apartment complex in #1 Cochran’s plan becoming reality.

“The high-rise type building, along with the parking garage … It’s a great idea and I think you need that, but it’s never going to happen,” D'Amico said. “It has nothing to do with anything but simple economics. The cost is too high.”

DeMarco said he thinks the project ultimately would be good for the borough, because it would involve improvements to that end of West Liberty Avenue, which is an entrance to Dormont. Improving the area could help Dormont compete with Mt. Lebanon’s business district, he said.

“To move this area forward, sometimes you need to take two steps back,” he said. “But we definitely need to get another parking lot here before any other one is closed.”

D'Amico said if the project has a significant, positive impact on Dormont residents, he’d be all for it. Right now, he said, more discussion is needed to figure out if that’s the case.

“I would hate to see Dormont get talked into building a dealership that doesn’t benefit the residents of Dormont,” D'Amico said. “You shouldn’t do something like this without a significant, positive, major impact to the borough residents.”

Follow Dormont-Brookline Patch on Facebook and Twitter. For more information, sign up for our email Newsletter.