Downtown Bridgewater FOCUS E-newsletter-2ndQuarter 2011

The Bridgewater Community Development Corporation will do the "Sitting Pretty" chairs display again this year. It's eas Sitting Pretty 2 y to participate; just find an old wooden chair, paint it, decorate it and place it outside your shop to give a little color to Bridge Street. You can find old wooden chairs at garage sales for about $1. Make them colorful and bright. There are no rules on how to paint or decorate them. There is also no limit...Decorate and display as many as you like. There is probably room for about 6 chairs in front of Malagise & Associates and Inside the Attic. (Pictured are some of last year's stylish creations.)

Sitting Pretty 3 The deadline for completion is May 30, Memorial Day. They can be displayed all summer giving a warm and welcoming look to the downtown. An additional benefit is that the chair encourages prospective customers to slow down and look at your storefront!!!

Last year they were sold at Bridgewater's 175th anniversary picnic. This year, the chairs will be judged and awarded prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

If you have questions, please call Becky at Inside the Attic at 724-775-1335 or email her at rboyde1@comcast.net.

BUILDING MORE SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DISTRICTS

With the Assistance of
Carnegie Mellon University Masters Students

Through a partnership between Sustainable Pittsburgh and Town Center Associates (TCA), local communities have benefitted from the insight and expertise of Carnegie Mellon University students who were taking the "Sustainable Community" course, taught by professor, Dr. Matthew Mehalik (also of Sustainable Pittsburgh).

Participating communities selected a key project in their business district for which they were seeking fresh perspective and ideas. The students worked over the course of the semester in Aliquippa, Monaca, and New Brighton, visiting the communities, interviewing community members and conducting hours of research and analysis on the important business district projects.

The students presented their findings at a final symposium held at Carnegie Mellon University, and their final reports will soon be available on Sustainable Pittsburgh's website. The findings may be relevant to many of the issues your downtown may be facing, or projects you may want to pursue in the future. Topics in the reports include:

· Creating a Sustainable Downtown Park

· Improving the Access Route from the Business District to an Important Community Park

· Developing Business District Wayfinding Systems

· Enhancing a Downtown Theater/Anchor Business

· And much more!

Town Center is grateful for the opportunity to work with the CMU students and Sustainable Pittsburgh, and we look forward to incorporating their suggestions into helping your community build a more sustainable business district.

NEW INFORMATION ON DOWNTOWN VACANT PROPERTY, LAND, & BLIGHT ISSUES

There is a fantastic new resource from the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania that provides expertise and guidance in handling a host of issues related to downtown vacant property/land and blight issues.

This "NEW TOOLS QUICK GUIDE" provides a compilation and brief description of state laws recently enacted for Pennsylvania's communities to address the problem of vacant, abandoned and blighted private property.

Check out the " New Tools Quick Guide".

RIDE THE OHIO RIVER TRAIL

Taking advantage of our region's resources is one of the most valuable ways we can participate in our community. The Ohio River Trail Council and Western Pennsylvania Wheelman have paired up and designed several programs to do just that.

Combining exercise and the outdoors, biking the Ohio River Trail has never been easier. The ORTC and WPW invite the community to participate in the brand-new Trail Ride Series in the tri-state region. Beginning Saturdays in April, twice-monthly rides are being held along Western Pennsylvania's beautiful 'Rail Trails,' typically within 2 hours of the city of Pittsburgh. The rides range in terrain difficulty and typically run between ten and forty miles long and involve a stop at a local restaurant for lunch.

It is the hope of the ORTC to encourage involvement in the beautiful outdoors that surround our local communities in a spirit of adventure and physical wellness. Partnerships in our region are underway with new programs rapidly developing to include a number of interests. Canoe & Kayak Club, Walking & Hiking Club, Running Club, Fishing Club, Birding & Butterflying Club and a Photography Club are all beginning to grow in popularity as our region continues to flourish.

The Ohio River Trail Cycling Club promotes fitness and recreation in our community, and the club invites riders of all abilities to explore our region on 2 wheels! For questions or comments, contact Vincent Troia or Nathan Peluso and refer to the ORTC ride calendar for event dates, visit their website at www.ohiorivertrail.org or call their offices at 724-728-2625.

FIND DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES...FAST !

Thanks to the Downtown First business directory, it has never been easier or faster to find what you are looking for in your downtown. Downtown First provides a free and easy-to-use online AND printable business directory for your downtown as well as approximately 20 other business districts in the region.

You can search for businesses by:

· Downtown: including your downtown and many nearby communities!

· Business Type: such as antiques or restaurants and cafes

· Keywords: such as the business name or a specific services you are looking for

Downtown First is leading the movement to support local businesses by making it possible for you to narrow your search to include only local, independent businesses....and making it easier for you to support them!

Remember to "put your money where your house is" by supporting your downtown businesses...first!

BridgewaterLogo

FREE POSTERS TO HELP MARKET YOUR VACANT/AVAILABLE PROPERTIES!

Help to market the vacant and/or available properties in your downtown with TCA's FREE DowntownProperties.net poster!

Placing the colorful DowntownProperties.net poster in your window will let everyone passing by know that it is available, whether your property is vacant or still being occupied.

DTP logo

Most importantly, the poster can direct those interested in your property to DowntownProperties.net, where they can access important information about the property, such as contact information, address square footage, a photograph, community demographics, and more!

If you are interested in a free poster for your property, please contact Town Center Associates at 724-728-9400 or tca@towncenter.info.

DOWNTOWN BRIDGEWATER E-NEWSLETTER

You are reading the Bridgewater 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 724-728-9400.

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 is brought to you by the Beaver County Community Development Program (CDP).

Town Center Associates (TCA) created this e-newsletter for CDP for your downtown, as one of the many services TCA has been contracted to provide to the downtowns in the Beaver County Main Street Network. For more information, please visit: www.beavercountymainstreets.com.