Mixed-use project gets underway in Carlisle

The project, led by Carlisle Events, will include a hotel, car condominiums, a restaurant, retail and office space and a three-acre public park with trails. It is being built on a 48-acre industrial brownfield site on Carlisle Springs Road and Fairground Avenue, the former home of International Automotive Components and also known as the Masland site.

But first, the developer will be carrying out about $21 million in on- and off-site infrastructure improvements over the next year. 


On Wednesday afternoon, state and local officials will gather to mark the start of those improvements. They will include road and sidewalk construction, stormwater management work and other property improvements as well as off-site traffic improvements.

“It’s a proud day for Carlisle Events,” said co-owner and co-founder Bill Miller Jr. “Nearly seven years to the day that we purchased the property, we’ll be breaking ground on something that will enhance downtown Carlisle and the region overall.”

The IAC factory closed in 2008. A subsidiary of Carlisle Events, purveyor of car shows and the owner of the Carlisle Fairgrounds, purchased the site in 2010. It is one of three industrial properties being remade in the borough under Carlisle’s urban redevelopment plan.

The infrastructure work for the IAC site is being funded in part by a $5 million federal transportation grant awarded to the borough. The Cumberland County Industrial Development Authority just finalized a $13 million tax-increment financing plan to support the infrastructure improvements, while nearly $8 million in state grants have been awarded to support the overall redevelopment plan.

Four state agencies — the Departments of Environmental Protection, Conservation and Natural Resources, Community and Economic Development and Transportation — will be attending the kickoff event Wednesday. Other funding partners include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Christine Smith, a spokeswoman for Carlisle Events, said the building portion of the project is expected to cost between $50 million and $60 million. That cost is in addition to the infrastructure work.

The entire development could take three to five years to build. A luxury car condo project is expected to be among the first pieces.