Please Forward this E-Newsletter!
Spread the word about the great things happening in YOUR downtown by clicking on "Forward Email" located at the bottom of this column.
|
| 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. |
|
A PROGRAM OF
Alleghenty County Economic Development |
|
|
|
|
ACED Welcomes Bellevue
to the Allegheny Together Program
In 2009, two new communities, Bellevue Borough and Coraopolis Borough were selected from a competitive pool of applicants to join Elizabeth Borough, Stowe Township, Swissvale Borough, Tarentum Borough, Bridgeville Borough, and Verona Borough in the Allegheny Together program. The Allegheny Together program was launched in 2007 by the County Executive Dan Onorato in four pilot communities to assist traditional pedestrian-based business districts throughout the county. The new program stresses community organization and data-driven planning as a way to direct public investment, spur private investment and revitalize our communities.
The focused, three-year approach led by the Economic Development Department aims to build the capacity of community groups in these neighborhoods with the support of a professional staff of architects, real estate experts, community planners, community development specialists and project managers. Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation and Town Center Associates were hired by the County to implement the program in all of the Allegheny Together communities. Both organizations have a wealth of experience and successful track records in commercial revitalization activities.
The services provided to each community can be broken down into three main components:
Organizational Start-Up Services: A series of Key Issues Workshops will give community members an opportunity to get involved. Each community will go through a long range planning process to establish a vision and direction for the community's business district. From this process annual action plans will be developed to help communities turn their vision into a reality.
Downtown Organization Support: In order to help communities communicate with their constituents and to stay organized, management assistance will be provided in the form of website development, central office support, newsletter development, business communication services, downtown recognition awards, and an online property database.
Downtown Planning Resources: Analytical tools and resources will be provided to each community to aid the organizations in their planning processes. Tools will include a market analysis, traffic and parking study, a strategic plan, design guidelines, ordinance review, and property data collection.
Allegheny County welcomes you to the program, and we look forward to working with you. |
|
You are Invited to the Key Issues Workshops
Bellevue municipal leaders, along with Allegheny County and its consultants, invite your participation in a series of key issues workshops. The first workshop was held in December and focused on Architecture and Design. This workshop was well attended and began the process of identifying Architecture and Design issues relevant to Downtown Bellevue. This series continues with the second workshop which focuses on the downtown area as the center of Bellevue's Community Life. A third Key Issue Workshop will be held in February to discuss and identify issues relevant to Business Development.
The purpose of all Key Issues Workshops is to identify and hear open public input on critical key issues associated with the subject matter as it relates to Downtown Bellevue. Your feedback is necessary in order to gain meaningful community consensus as to how you want downtown Bellevue to be shaped in the future. Please make every effort to attend and let others who might be interested in attending the workshop know about this opportunity.
Community Life Key Issues Workshop
Thursday, January 14th
Business Development Key Issues Workshop
Thursday, February 11th
Key Issues Workshops begin at 6:30 PM
and are held in the Bellevue Municipal Building
537 Bayne Avenue
Please RSVP to
tca@towncenter.info
or at 412-577-7447
|
|
Downtown Bellevue First
Think Downtown. Think Local
The new Downtown Bellevue First program makes it easy to choose Downtown Bellevue businesses, first! Downtown Bellevue First is part of an innovative new regional program called Downtown First, which is designed to promote and support the downtown business districts in our region.
Visit www.downtownfirst.net, and select Bellevue, and you'll find an entire program focused on marketing Downtown Bellevue businesses. Downtown First promotes Downtown Bellevue and encourages residents and visitors to enjoy the wonderful businesses that Downtown Bellevue has to offer.
One of the first services offered through Downtown Bellevue First is an online Business Directory, found at www.downtownfirst.net. The directory also provides an opportunity for individual business owners to enhance their directory listing with an advanced webpage system, through which they can offer coupons, discounts, information about special events and products/services and more! Downtown First is currently offering business owners a FREE 60 day webpage trial. Visit www.downtownfirst.net to learn more.
Downtown First is a downtown business support and promotion program created by Town Center Associates.
|
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.
|
Services Provided by Town Center Associates
Town Center Associates (TCA) has been one of the consultants with the Allegheny Together Program since its inception in 2007. TCA provides
comprehensive support to traditional downtown-based, main street
communities. Utilizing a professional "team approach," we are committed
to advancing downtown and economic development.
TCA currently provides business district support services to 28 plus
Western Pennsylvania communities, including the Allegheny Together
communities. TCA are business district professionals with divisions focused on Business District Management, Business Support Systems, and Commercial Real
Estate Programs.
TCA
supports Allegheny Together communities by providing them with a
multitude of services. We begin by holding Key Issues Workshops in
your community, and then by assisting your community in committee
selection and orientation. We will help you to establish long-range
goals and objectives, and form an annual strategic action plan. TCA
continues its involvement in your community's program through central
office staff support for the committee; a communications program
including e-newsletters, business visits, and other tools to assist in
making the local community and the business community aware of your
efforts; a comprehensive website for your downtown; and an online
database of downtown property information.
Over
the past two years we have been pleased to see the many accomplishments
of the towns that have been participating in the Allegheny Together
program. TCA has worked with the current six Allegheny Together
communities to build strong Business District Advisory Committees in
all six communities. More than 26 community input workshops have engaged approximately 800 community attendees in the revitalization of their downtowns. Recognition Awards have been given to over 200 individual businesses to acknowledge their commitment to their communities. Since 2007, 50 new small businesses have opened in Allegheny Together communities. In 2008, nearly 1,000 community members attended Farmer's Markets in downtown Swissvale and downtown Tarentum, which were led by the respective communities' Community Life Committee Chairs.
Town
Center Associates is excited to be a part of Bellevue's participation
in the Allegheny Together Program and looks forward to working with
your community.
| |
|
|
PHLF Update
Main Street Revitalization
The
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) brings over forty years of
experience in community revitalization to the Allegheny Together team. We are looking forward to working with both Coraopolis
and Bellevue,
the 2009 additions to the Allegheny Together Program, as they enter into the
Year One planning phase of the Allegheny Together program. In year one of the
program, PHLF's goal is to make sure that we are setting the stage in both
communities for a productive revitalization as we transition to more physical
implementations in the second and third years.
PHLF has a
proven track record of utilizing historic buildings, good marketing and innovative
real estate techniques, to harness new investment to restore buildings, to
bring fresh initiative to the merchandising of shop owners, and to attract new
businesses.
We take
pride in delivering results. We work
with communities to identify strategic opportunities and then we pursue them
aggressively. This means accessing a
variety of funding programs. It means
leveraging those dollars and building partnerships. And it means taking purposeful steps that
build the kind of momentum that can lead to a sustained revitalization. This is what we do. And it is why we are known throughout
southwestern PA for our ability to deliver lasting results.
|
Downtown Bellevue E-Newsletter
You are
reading Downtown Bellevue's quarterly downtown e-newsletter. By using
e-newsletters instead of print newsletters, we can send the information about
our downtown revitalization efforts to a greater number of people and save
paper--a win for the community and the environment!
To
receive your copy of the e-newsletter via email, simply send an email to
tca@towncenter.info and indicate your email address, as well as the name of the
town or towns for which you'd like to receive the e-newsletters. You can
also call Town Center Associates to sign up at 412-577-7447.
Please also
take a moment to forward this email along to your friends, colleagues, family
and neighbors, and encourage them to sign up today; please forward the email using the link found at the bottom of the left column. This will help to inform
(and involve) more citizens about the revitalization efforts taking place in
our downtown.
|
| 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. |
|
|
