First Quarter 2010
Downtown Elizabeth E-Newsletter
                                                     Allegheny Together  
Elizabeth Business District Advisory Committee 
IN THIS ISSUE
Downtown Recognition Award
Welcome
Calendar of Events
Sustainable Pittsburgh Workshop
Downtown First
Plum Street Project
DowntownProperties.net
PHLF Update
2010 Census Form
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Spread the word about the great things happening in YOUR downtown by clicking on "Forward Email" located at the bottom of this column. Thank you!
BDAC's MISSION 
 
To serve as a an action-oriented community -based group, committed to advising and supporting the Borough through a comprehensive initiative to revitalize Elizabeth's central business district.
 
ALLEGHENY TOGETHER
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.
QUICK LINKS
 
 
 
 
A PROGRAM OF
Alleghenty County Economic Development 
 
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DOWNTOWN RECOGNITION AWARD
Mitchell Plumbing, Heating & Cooling

art
Mitchell Plumbing, Heating & Cooling
has been chosen by the Elizabeth Business District's Advisory Committee's 1st Quarter Downtown Recognition recipient for 2010. This business is very supportive of community events such as Riverfest, the Halloween parade and many others. Owner Art Mitchell is always willing to help financially and do whatever it takes to get the job done.
 

Mitchell Plumbing, Heating, & Cooling, Inc. is a full service Residential and Commercial Plumbing and HVAC-R service and installation company that has been serving the Greater Pittsburgh area for 50 years. The company was founded by Ray Mitchell in 1960 who sold the business to his nephew and current owner Arthur Mitchell in 1979.

 

Mitchell Plumbing and Heating has grown over the years and now has about 25 vehicles servicing the community. The fleet includes residential and commercial plumbers and heating technicians along with an excavation division that can handle any underground gas, water, or sewer line need. Mitchell Plumbing and Heating is a member of the Better Business Bureau and maintains an excellent customer service record. All of Mitchell's 30+ employees undergo routine drug screenings and background checks to ensure their customers get the excellent service that they deserve.

     

Working toward the future Arthur is now joined in operating the company by his two sons, Ryan, who oversees the service division and daily operations, and Matthew, who is involved in sales and marketing along with daily operations. In order to ensure many more years of serving the community, Mitchell's has aligned themselves with many utility companies and corporate partners where they are service providers for programs offered by companies like American Water, Columbia Gas, and The Home Depot. In an industry that is full of one and two-man operations with questionable workmanship and value, Mitchell Plumbing, Heating, & Cooling stands out as a family owned and operated company that delivers honesty, integrity and quality workmanship on every job and will continue to do so for many years to come.

WELCOME TO OUR NEW BUSINESS!

Create A Friend
121 South Third Avenue
412-360-5781
Laurie Picone, owner

DOWNTOWN ELIZABETH CALENDAR OF EVENTS

 
Elizabeth Borough Senior Center
 in the
Elizabeth Borough Building
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 AM
Saturdays at 6 PM 
 
Fish Fry
Every Friday 3 to 9 PM
Elizabeth United Methodist Church
 
Easter Egg Hunt
April 3rd
Sponsored by the Fire Department
 

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR DOWNTOWN ELIZABETH

Recently, Sustainable Pittsburgh sponsored a team of architects and planners to participate in a problem-solving exercise with the Elizabeth Business District Advisory Committee (BDAC). Sustainable Pittsburgh is a nonprofit organization that seeks to integrate economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental quality to bring sustainable solutions to communities and businesses. 
 
The issue discussed was how best to draw the community back in to the core downtown business district via the creation of a piazza-type public space with the periodic closing of a portion of Plum Street for outdoor dining and entertainment. The discussion included observations about current conditions; funding opportunities; and theme development.
 
The Elizabeth BDAC will consider the information discussed during this exercise, and work with Town Center Associates to incorporate key elements of the discussion into our annual Strategic Action Plan. Elizabeth's Strategic Action Plan focuses on bringing about positive revitalization within Elizabeth's central business district.
bekavac

ELIZABETH FIRST!
Think Downtown. Think Local.
    

The new Elizabeth First program makes it easy to choose Elizabeth businesses, first! Elizabeth 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 Elizabeth, and you'll find an entire program focused on marketing downtown Elizabeth businesses. Downtown First promotes downtown Elizabeth and encourages residents and visitors to enjoy the wonderful businesses that Downtown Elizabeth has to offer.

One of the first services offered through Elizabeth 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.


PLUM STREET PROJECT UPDATE

As was noted in the last issue of this newsletter, the Elizabeth Business District Advisory Committee is continuing to explore the Plum Street Project in which Plum Street, between Second Street and Third Street, could be used as a "town center," and be temporarily closed for weekly community events. The community could use this space to gather on a regular basis and to enjoy food and/or refreshments, listen to music, and socialize.

A subcommittee was formed to focus exclusively on this concept and to investigate all of the issues involved to make this a reality. The overall purpose of the Plum Street Project is to draw residents back to the business district, thus generating a more vibrant business core. 


Currently, the committee is having six planters built as barriers and is securing commitments from various community members for the project. Town Center Associates has been working with the sub-committee to support them in moving this important community project forward.

The committee is planning to start having weekly entertainment on Thursday evenings this summer. Stay tuned for more details!
FIND AVAILABLE DOWNTOWN ELIZABETH PROPERTIES!
 
Are you looking for a storefront to buy or lease for your business computerlocation? Do you own a downtown property that is for sale or for lease?
 
Be sure to check out www.downtownProperties.net. Town Center Associate's innovative new business recruitment program includes this website, which is one hundred percent devoted to properties for sale or lease in your downtown's central business district, as well as other local business districts.
 
DowntownProperties.net features the vacant/available downtown properties in your business district complete with:
  • Property Photos
  • Property Owner Contact Information
  • Address Information
  • The ability to add additional information to each listing, such as realtor contact information or details about the property
  • Features that enable you to email listings to interested parties, map listings, as well as print listings
More than just a website, the DowntownProperties.net program offers key benefits to the municipality. Benefits include having a central source of property contact information, and a readily available resource to attract new businesses--by marketing vacancies and available properties.
 
Additionally, TCA will provide property owners with a free, colorful DowntownProperties.net poster to put in their vacant or available storefront window to demonstrate that the building is available.
 
If you have a vacant or available downtown property that is not currently listed on the site, let us know. Just send an email to tca@towncenter.info, or call us at 412-577-7447 or 724-728-0500.
PHLF UPDATE
 

Great businesses capture foot traffic, maintain their building's historical integrity, and are intensely focused on customer service. PHLF is offering technical assistance to business owners to help them make their businesses the best they can be.

As many property owners are aware, Allegheny County's Allegheny Restores program is a way for you to make capital improvements to the façade of your building. However, this is not the only assistance available to you. PHLF is offering the services of an interior designer to you and your business. Our designers can help you draw in more foot traffic through an eye-catching window display, improve the interior layout of your space, and offer suggestions for new paint colors or window treatments. This is a great opportunity for your business to get recommendations from a design professional, free of charge. To set up an appointment, please contact David Farkas at 412-471-5808.

As previously mentioned, Allegheny Restores is a great opportunity for property and business owners in the Allegheny Together communities to make improvements to their facades. PHLF will be stepping up its role in this area and assisting property and business owners in bidding the work out to subcontractors, as well as helping to advise about the construction phase. PHLF brings over 40 years of restoration and renovation experience, and we are excited about working with interested business and property owners.

YOUR CENSUS FORM IS GOOD FOR YOUR COMMUNITY

Simply filling out your census form can benefit our downtown and our entire community by making it known what resources are needed for our community.

Accurate data reflecting changes in the community are critical in apportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and deciding how more than $400 billion per year is allocated for infrastructure projects.

That's more than $4 trillion over a 10-year period for things like public works projects and services like job training centers.

Additionally, residents themselves have used census data to support community initiatives involving environmental legislation, quality-of-life issues and consumer advocacy.

Do your part for your downtown efforts and your community as a whole by filling out and sending in your 2010 Census Form.

Information garnered from the US Census website at www.2010.census.gov.

 

DOWNTOWN ELIZABETH E-NEWSLETTER

You are reading the Elizabeth FOCUS: your 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! 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.