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| ALLEGHENY TOGETHER |
Allegheny Together endeavors to encourage well-planned, well-designed and geographically-focused investment in the established, urban commercial districts of Allegheny County while respecting the unique history, character, and built environment of each. The program aims to help organize and empower each community to fulfill its collective vision. |
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A PROGRAM OF
Alleghenty County Economic Development |
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Bridgeville Business District Advisory Committee
(Dale Miller & Midge Gilson pictured above)
The Bridgeville Business District Advisory Committee (BDAC) is now well underway with beginning its mission to enhance downtown development in Bridgeville. The committee includes: Dale Miller, Organization Chair; Adam Wright, Architecture & Design Chair; John McCans, Business Development Chair and Midge Gilson, Community Life Chair.
The committee is pleased to have Dale Miller serving as the Organization Chair. In this capacity, Dale is charged with chairing the action-oriented, downtown revitalization committee that has been officially appointed by the Bridgeville Borough Council. Dale has lived in Bridgeville for 35 years. Currently, he works as a loan officer and branch manager for Northwest Savings Bank. Dale is involved with the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club, and has served as a member of Bridgeville Borough Council. He is happy to be able to help the Bridgeville community in this new initiative as a member of the Bridgeville BDAC.
Midge Gilson is serving as the Community Life Chair. In this capacity, Midge, along with other volunteers, works to create opportunities and events that bring people into Bridgeville's business district on a regular, ongoing basis.
Midge has been a Bridgeville resident for 40 years and deals in rental properties in the area. She served as a member of the Gladden United Presbyterian church choir for many years; the South Fayette Civil Service Commission for 10 years; the Board of Goodwill Industries, as well as the Historic Society and Community Day committees. Midge is very interested in serving the Bridgeville community and in getting others to volunteer for the benefit of the Borough.
Adam Wright is serving as the Architecture & Design Chair. In this capacity, Adam is charged with leading activities related to developing and maintaining the streetscape program; protecting and improving the character, scale and quality of buildings and facades; and encouraging and maintaining high-quality business and public signage. (Adam's personal history will appear in the next issue of the E-Newsletter)
Finally, the committee is happy to have John McCans serving as the Business Development Chair. In this capacity, John is charged with leading activities related to retaining and supporting valued downtown businesses; striving to attract businesses that best serve the community's needs. John has resided in Bridgeville for 40 years and has been a small business owner for the past 12 years. John is active with the Planning Commission, the Community Day Committee and an officer in the Methodist Church. As a member of BDAC, John is looking forward to helping increase business development within the Borough.
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Bridgeville Community Day Highlights
June 20, 2009
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Bridgeville BDAC Hosts Merchant Breakfast
On July 28th, the Bridgeville Business District Advisory Committee invited area merchants to attend a breakfast at the Borough building. The topic of discussion was the Allegheny Restores Program which provides assistance to business owners and building owners who wish to make physical improvements to their facades. Eighteen businesses were represented along with representatives from ACED, Town Center Associates and Borough Manager Lori Collins.
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New Business Recruitment Tool
DowntownProperties.net is a new business recruitment tool being offered to communities by Town Center Associates. The website is a central source of information of properties available for sale or lease in your downtown. Properties in the business district can be listed on DowntownProperties.net at no charge to building owners and/or real estate professionals.
Please visit www.downtownproperties.net for an easily accessible listing of property availability in Allegheny Together communities as well as other downtown-based Western Pennsylvania communities. If you have a property located in your community's downtown which does not already appear on the site and you would like to have it listed, please call Town Center Associates at 412-577-7447.
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Upcoming Events
The Bridgeville Community Association and Bridgeville Borough sponsor several events during the year:
Concert in the Park
Button Box Club
August 22 from 6 to 7 PM
Triangle Park
4th Annual Pet Show
September 12 from 12 to 1 PM
Triangle Park
Halloween Parade
Sat, Oct 24 10:15 AM
GoodWill Manor 
Light Up Night
Fri, Dec 4, 6:30 PM
Triangle Park
Participation from community members always makes these events more fun and more memorable--especially for our younger residents. |
Downtown Façade Restoration Assistance
The Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County (RAAC) is offering assistance to business owners and building owners who wish to make physical improvements to their building façades through the Allegheny Restores Program.
The following criteria will be used to determine whether an applicant is eligible for a façade renovation grant.
- LOCATION: Businesses must be located in an Allegheny Together community that is in year two or beyond of the program. Projects located within the core business district boundary will be given priority.
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Eligible businesses include commercial establishments with street-level storefront entrances.
Note: Preference is given to structures fifty years old or older.
OCCUPANCY: Unoccupied buildings are eligible, but buildings currently occupied by eligible businesses will be given priority. Owner occupancy is not required; approval of tenant-initiated projects is contingent on the property owner's agreement to adhere to program requirements.
Eligible Activities Include:
- Architectural Services
- Improvements to the Façade of an Existing Building Examples include:
-Repointing and cleaning brick
-Painting walls and trim
-Repairing or replacing woodwork or other decorative architectural elements
-Installing canvas awnings
-Fabrication and installation of signage
-Installation of exterior lighting
-Restoring or rehabilitating an existing storefront
-Removing incompatible or historically inappropriate exterior finishes
-Replacing or repairing windows and doors
- Construction of the Façade of a New Building, where the design of the façade is compatible with existing architecture in the business district.
- Roof repair is not eligible for this program
The next round of applications is due by September 25, 2009.
For more specific information and to obtain an application, please visit www.alleghenytogether.com and click on "Allegheny Restores" under Special Programs in the left-hand column.
Allegheny County encourages you to please call and discuss your project with them prior to completing the application. For questions or clarification regarding the program or application please contact:
Jessica Mooney (412) 350-3300
Lance Chimka (412) 350-1018
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PHLF Update
The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) has just submitted our preliminary planning and analysis work to the Bridgeville Business District Advisory Committee. This includes a strategic plan, market research, a traffic and parking survey, a zoning and code review and design guidelines. These documents are meant to help guide the short and long term revitalization of Bridgeville's traditional downtown business district. We are optimistic about Bridgeville's prospects and believe that you have many valuable assets to build on. Some of the planning highlights include:
In looking at how the downtown area functions currently, we noticed several distinct areas, including the business cluster around the Bank St. Extension parking lot,
the businesses along Washington Ave., Triangle Park and the current Library, and the borough building and businesses along Bower Hill Rd. and Railroad St. We identify a number of ways to build stronger connections between these areas and, in the process, create a sense of main street vitality throughout a much larger area;
We also observed that, although it feels like an oasis when you enter downtown Bridgeville after driving along SR 50, the downtown has a tendency to function as another
of the strip malls that line SR 50 on either side of the downtown. People tend to drive, park in one of the conveniently located municipal lots, go to their destination, get back in their car and leave. We try to identify ways to get these customers to spend more time in downtown going to different shops, including by working to get a better mix of
retail stores to balance out a preponderance of professional services;
The heavy traffic volumes on Washington Ave. throughout the day provide a steady flow of potential customers, but it also creates a poor pedestrian experience along the main concentration of businesses. Improving the pedestrian experience without adding to additional traffic congestion is a key goal and we identify several possibilities,
including improved sidewalk landscaping, landscaped medians where appropriate, and a possible traffic circle at the intersection of Washington Ave. and Bower Hill Rd.
We also believe that the row of contiguous buildings, many of them historic, along the western side of Washington Ave. between Station and Hickman streets, would be a
much stronger asset if they were subjected to a focused facade restoration effort. We have provided the business advisory committee with a streetscape rendering of what this
row of buildings would look like fully restored.
PHLF is looking forward to working with the Bridgeville Business District Advisory Committee and other interested parties as we transition from our planning work to the much harder effort of implementation. We will stay connected to your work through TCA and will be able to offer our real estate redevelopment and restoration services in the coming months
to help achieve these and other planning goals.
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| This e-newsletter was created by Town Center Asociates for the Allegheny Together Program of Allegheny County Economic Development. For more information about the Allegheny Together program, please visit www.alleghenytogether.com. |
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