CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP — It is not just the inside of the Cranberry Township Municipal Center that will be undergoing renovations. On Thursday, March 7, the board of supervisors voted unanimously to allow bidding to start for the Armstrong Great Lawn project.

“It took a lot of studies and it was really the vision of the board to think ahead about how do we create a community gathering space on the front lawn of the building,” said Kyle Beidler, assistant township manager.

Beidler presented the council with an outline for the future $2.5 million project.

Features of the Great Lawn project include a playground at the southwest corner of the municipal property, a reading garden connected to the library, an urban fountain and an expanded story walk that will allow children to engage outdoors and read at the same time.

As for when the municipal building will start moving forward with the various projects, Beidler provided only an estimated timeline.

“We’re hoping in March to start the public advertisement period,” said Beidler. “After that we hope to open the bids sometime in April, award contracts in May and hopefully start construction sometime in June.”

Beidler recognized coordination would be required with the ongoing renovations of the building.

Vice chairman Bruce Hezlep said the nearly five-year project is a testament to the township’s thorough and methodical approach when it comes to creating projects for the community.

“We don’t do anything without planning,” Hezlep said. “I’m really excited about this. This is kind of the icing on the cake that we’ve been building for three or four years.”

Chairman Mike Manipole said the lawn project will encourage people to feel welcome at the municipal building.

“The goal has always been to draw people into this building,” Manipole said. “The goal was always trying to wear out the carpet. Everybody worked so hard to try to make this a welcoming place for community gatherings.”

Manipole said he was impressed with the amount of input the project gathered from community members, including children.

“You (brought) kids into the planning process, and we always say teenagers are one of the hardest groups to get involved in things,” Manipole said. “We can build recreation programs, but they’re not going to show up unless they have a hand in the actual planning.”

Community input especially focusing on children is something Beidler said he thinks will continue to be part of future development of the Armstrong Great Lawn project.

“I really see this thing growing into something larger,” Beidler said. “Doing this year after year with the school district, engaging the student body, getting them to think about not only what we can do better in our built environment, but also thinking about other careers that are available for them.”