Spring 2012   

Downtown Beaver FOCUS

Beaver Business District Authority      

      

BEAVER COUNTY MAIN STREET NETWORK

 

 

 

 

 

IN THIS ISSUE
Our Downtown Recognition Recipient
Beaver Calendar of Events
Warmly Welcoming Our New Business
Beaver is Building a More Sustainable Business District
Study Proves Financial Benefits to Businesses from Thinking Downtown First

QUICK LINKS  

BROUGHT TO YOU

BY:

Beaver County
Community
Development Program 


DAVID SEBASTIAN 

Our Featured Downtown Recognition Recipient

 Beaver

The Beaver Business District Authority (BDA) is pleased to recognize David Sebastian as our featured downtown recognition recipient this quarter.  David recently completed a façade renovation to his property located at 688 Third Street. This location is the home of Photography By James.  

 

David utilized the façade incentive program offered through the Beaver County Community Development Program's downtown revitalization program to complete this great project. The BDA is proud to recognize this positive enhancement to our downtown. It is the dedication of committed individuals that continues to help our area remain a focus of inspiration and to serve as a fitting location for our town's activities.  

 

The committee thanks David for his time, energy and enthusiasm for our downtown!

DOWNTOWN BEAVER CALENDAR OF EVENTS


Redd Up the Roads
Where: Meet at Café Kolache
When: April 21 at 9 AM

Arbor Day Celebration
Where: Gazebo, McIntosh Park, Third Street
When: April 28 at 10 AM

Beaver Town Yard Sale
Where: Throughout the community
When: May 12
8 AM to 4 PM

Bike Safety Event
Where: 305 College Avenue
When: May 12
12 - 3 PM

Spring Clean Up
Where: South Side of Third Street
When:  May 12

Spring Clean Up
Where: North Side Third Street
When:  May 19

Memorial Day Parade and Commemoration
Where: Ceremony at Beaver Cemetery, Third Street
When:  May 28 at 10:20 AM

Beaver VFD and Heritage Valley Health Systems 5K/10K Race
Where: Beaver Fire Station, 165 Market Street
When:  June 2 at 9AM

Ft. McIntosh Garrison Days Craft Show
Where:Downtown Beaver Parks
When:June 9 from 9 AM to 6 PM

Beaver Summer Carnival
Where: McIntosh Park; Irvine Park, Third Street
When: June 18-25 from 12 to 11 PM

Fourth of July Concert in the Park
Where: Gazebo, McIntosh Park, Third Street
When: July 1 at 7 PM

Hot Summer Night Car Cruise
Where: Third Street
When: August 4 from 3 to 9 PM

WARMLY WELCOMING OUR NEW BUSINESS!

Vibrant Images
637 Third Street
Beaver, PA

The Beaver Business District Authority is pleased to welcome Vibrant Images to our downtown!

Vibrant Images features framed photography, work of landscapes, and wildlife. This new Beaver shop also offers a large selection of handcrafted wind chimes; handcrafted birdhouses from an Ohio artist; fused glass jewelry from a Washington state artist; nickel free earring; handmade jewelry from a Tacoma, WA artist; jewelry designed and handmade by local artists and stained glass from a local artist.  

Vibrant Images is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM and Saturdays from 10 AM to 2 PM. The shop is also open until 6 PM the third Thursday of each month and closed the 3rd Saturday of each month.
BEAVER IS BUILDING A MORE
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DISTRICT  

With the Assistance of

Carnegie Mellon University Masters Students

 
Through a partnership between Sustainable Pittsburgh and Town Center Associates (TCA), local business districts will benefit from the insight and expertise of Carnegie Mellon University Masters students taking the "Sustainable Community" course, taught by professor, Dr. Matthew Mehalik.

Beaver is delighted to have been selected to study a key project in our business district for which we are seeking fresh perspective and ideas. The students will work over the course of the next semester in each of the participating communities--visiting the communities, interviewing community members and conducting hours of research and analysis on these critical business district projects.

The students ordinarily present their findings at a final symposium held at Carnegie Mellon University and their final reports are then made available online.

The findings from various previous towns' Sustainable Communities projects may be relevant to many of the issues your downtown may be facing, or projects you may want to pursue in the future. Previous 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; and Enhancing a Downtown Theater/Anchor Business. To access these reports, please visit https://public.me.com/mmehalik1 and use the guest password cmusc2011 to view the files.

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

STUDY PROVES FINANCIAL BENEFITS TO BUSINESSES

FROM THINKING DOWNTOWN FIRST

  

"When you know better, you do better."


According to a newly released study of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance: Independent businesses in communities with an active "buy independent/buy local" campaign run by groups like Downtown First saw revenues grow 7.2% in 2011, compared to 2.6% for those in areas without an alliance.

Additionally, "independent retailers enjoyed stronger holiday sales than the retail sector as a whole. While overall holiday sales were up 4.1% in 2011, respondents (all independents) reported an average sales increase of 6.7%."

Find local, independent businesses in your community and our region through
Downtown First's business directories!

Read more about the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's study
here.

 

BeaverLogo

CASH MOBS HELP MAIN STREET

Cash Mobs is a great new idea that is spreading throughout the country and around the world! A handful of individuals have embraced the "Buy Local" message and borrowed from flash mobs (a trend in which people randomly break into elaborate song and dance routines) to create what they call "Cash Mobs." Groups of strangers are organized via Facebook and Twitter to descend on favorite independent retailers such as bookstores, bakeries, wine shops, donut shops, and other independent businesses and to spend at least $20 each. The organizer alerts the store owner in advance.
 
One such Cash Mob took place locally recently at Mac's Donuts in Aliquippa, PA. A new Dunkin Donuts was moving into the area close to Mac's, a 54 year old Beaver County tradition, and Beaver County residents wanted to demonstrate their appreciation of Mac's. The effort drew 2,000 customers in just 2 days' time to come out and support Mac's Donuts.

To learn more about Cash Mobs, please visit the following links:
   
DOWNTOWN BEAVER E-NEWSLETTER

You are reading the Beaver 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.