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SWPACDC December
Meeting
December 7 at 2 pm on
the
23rd
Floor of the
Regional Enterprise Tower.
Please RSVP to Grant
Ervin regarding your attendance. We hope
to see you there!
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Program Committee
Committee Chair: Anne Marie Lubenau Over the summer, the program committee determined a couple of events that the Coalition should sponsor before the end of the year. These events, an August social meeting and an Advocacy Trip to Harrisburg, were a huge success. The August meeting, held at Coca Café in Lawrenceville, was to clarify what SWPACDC does and to look at state and local trends for community development organizations. Advocacy Day, held October 18, was to give some members of the Coalition a chance to meet with their counterparts in Philadelphia, as well as with some key legislators. The Program Committee?s next task is to look at the possibility of creating roundtables to establish relationships with key players in banks, universities and hospitals. Policy Committee
Committee Chair: Kyra Straussman There were three key policy issues discussed by the policy committee over the summer. The first issue was the Historic Preservation Incentive Bill proposed by state Senator Piccola. At that point, no action had been taken and it was determined no further support was necessary until the legislature was back in session. Another big topic for the committee is transportation funding and reform. The committee proposed two questions to consider: 1.) Has there ever been a study on the impact of transportation in regards to economic development and 2.) What are the transportation issues in the minds of Pennsylvanians? Finally, the committee discussed rallying support for the Community Revitalization Briefing Paper. The purpose of this policy brief was to open a dialogue with the gubernatorial candidates that focused on issues of community revitalization. Communications Committee
Committee Chair: David Blenk The communications committee has identified 'place' as a key product of Coalition. The communications committee determined that one of the communications goals of the Coalition is to sell the message of place. If we are able to use our guiding principles to direct us, we can tell the story of neighborhoods and of the people who live in those neighborhoods. This will help us express what community development is and how we are working to make our neighborhoods the best place to live. The committee also decided to create a Public Relations plan to determine who, what, where, when, why and how to communicate our message. |
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The Newest Place on the North Side: The
American Electric Site
A few years ago, the Manchester Citizens
Corporation (MCC) began a process called the
Manchester Neighborhood Transformation Initiative.
The purpose of the Initiative was to inventory
vacant properties for redevelopment. It was
through this process that the former American
Electric Warehouse site was chosen for
redevelopment and, primarily, because of its
size, 4.3 acres, and its location, a key gateway to
the neighborhood. So, in 2005, the MCC bought the
site from the current owner and began an
environmental scan of the property.
MCC partnered with Fourth River Development in a
joint venture to own and develop the site.
Despite this partnership, additional funding was still
necessary to adequately remediate the site.
Fortunately, MCC and Fourth River Development
received a grant for $275,000 from the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
through Growing Greener II for assistance in this
effort. Remediation is expected to start in the
beginning of 2007, with the help of the governor?s
Brownfield Action Team. Soon after, construction on
the 26 for-sale housing units will begin, and by the
end of 2007, 3 model homes should be completed.
Thehouses will be designed by Devlin architecture and
will complement the historic houses present in the
neighborhood.
Manchester Citizens Corporation?s executive director,
Tom Hardy, comments, ?The American Electric
project is a great example of a public / private
partnership that will help reclaim a brownfield and
revitalize one of Pittsburgh's most historic
neighborhoods. Manchester is benefiting from the
investment of Pennsylvania's Growing Greener
Initiative, which will allow the Manchester Citizens
Corporation to complete the environmental
remediation of the site and attract the interest of an
experienced private developer.?
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As Good as Green
Did you know that with 17 certified buildings Pittsburgh is a national leader in green buildings? Not only are we getting 'greener,' but we are getting 'smarter' too. Read Diana Nelson Jones' article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette to see how. |
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