The story of 2025 is largely unwritten at this early date on the calendar. But there’s nothing to stop anyone from making calculated guesses about the future.
In that spirit, here is a look at some of the stories and events that might shape Erie’s future over the next year.
Erie will elect a mayor in 2025
Erie Mayor Joe Schember, 74, plans to seek a third four year term in 2025 — but he has competition.
Erie Mayor Joe Schember, a Democrat, is seeking his third term in office.
Fellow Democrat Daria Devlin, 47, Hamot Health Foundation’s director of social impact and a member of the Erie School Board, has announced that she will seek the Democratic nomination for mayor in May’s municipal primary and challenge Schember.
The winner of the primary will be a huge favorite in the November municipal election because of the city of Erie’s more than 2-1 Democratic voter registration edge.
No Republican has announced a candidacy thus far.
Schember was first elected in 2017 and easily won re-election in 2021 despite two primary challengers that year, Tom Spagel and Sydney Zimmermann.
Prospects for CRIZ loom large in Erie’s future
The creation of the Erie Downtown Development Corp. in 2017 was a spark that touched off more than $100 million in downtown development in Erie.
Some, including Drew Whiting, CEO of the EDDC that spearheaded that development, believes Erie’s newly approved City Revitalization & Improvement Zone program or CRIZ could prove just as impactful.
Erie Zoo CEO Melissa “Roo” Kojancie is shown near Amur leopard Nia at the zoo in Erie on Jan. 31, 2024. The zoo is likely to benefit from the City Revitalization & Improvement Zone program or CRIZ that will divert tax money to economic development projects.
Erie’s CRIZ Zone, which won state approval on Dec. 30, will allow increases in certain taxes collected within designated areas of the city to be diverted to funding shovel-ready economic development projects within those areas.
More: CRIZ approval expected to create a $15 million annual windfall for development in Erie
In Erie, where the program will capture increases in insurance premiums paid to Erie Insurance, the CRIZ is expected to generate $15 million a year.
It’s a big deal, according to a statement from state Rep. Bob Merski, an Erie Democrat who represents the state’s 2nd legislative district.
“Today’s announcement is a game-changer for Erie,” Merski said in December. “The CRIZ designation will provide the necessary resources to transform our community, attract new businesses and create jobs.”
Big changes coming to Erie School District
The Erie School District will experience two milestones in 2025. It will get a new superintendent for the first time since 2017, when the current schools chief, Brian Polito, retires from the post. The Erie School Board is in the process of picking a successor.
Also in 2025, the new Edison Elementary School is scheduled to open in August. It will be the first new school to be built in the Erie School District since the new East High School — now East Middle School — was dedicated in 1999.
Largest white-collar crime case in history is headed to court
The federal courthouse in Erie was busy throughout 2024 as several major criminal and civil cases filled the docket. The court schedule for 2025 is also expected to be highly active, especially in February and March.
That is when the trial is set to occur in the health care fraud case against Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy, its two owners and 18 employees. It is the largest-ever white-collar crime case to be prosecuted in Erie. Jury selection is scheduled to start on Feb. 18 in the courtroom of Judge Susan Paradise Baxter. The trial is expected to extend well into March.
EDDC expects to start work soon on $20 million building
There’s an empty space between the EDDC’s Flagship Public Market and the Flagship City Food Hall.
An excavator tears down the former Greyhound bus station in Erie in November of 2021. The Erie Downtown Development Corp. is about to begin work on the new $20 million building that will be built on that spot.
That’s about to change as work is expected to begin in the next few weeks on the $20 million Arcade Building that will connect two existing EDDC buildings.
The 40,000-square-foot building, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2026, will include space for offices, food service and retail space, Whiting said.
From 2024: First round of EDDC projects near completion, but there’s still work to be done in Erie
Downtown buildings to undergo multi-million-dollar renovations
Renovations are expected to move forward this year on two of downtown Erie’s best-known buildings.
GoodHomes Communities LLC is at work on a $30 million transformation of the former Avalon Hotel at 16 W. 10th St. into a 197-unit affording housing apartment complex that will include leased space on the first floor.
Avalon Hotel & Conference Center, 16 W. 10th St., in downtown Erie.
Built in 1976, the eight-story structure was originally a Hilton Hotel.
A few blocks away, plans are taking shape to transform the Renaissance Centre, Erie’s tallest building, into an upscale hotel with space for restaurants, office and public gatherings.
Christian Siembieda, a California-based investor, has estimated the cost of the project at $50 million.
Staff writers Ed Palattella and Kevin Flowers contributed to this report.
Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Mayor’s race, construction likely to be among top stories