Community Revitalization Desktop Guide

Developers want all potential funders at the table as early as possible. Revitalization projects need multiple sources of funding and many people at different levels troubleshooting and making sure things move forward. Once a tangible project is proposed, it is time to involve the State, County, private foundations, major employers, and any other important players. Bringing these key players to the table early will ensure that the municipality will have the money, skill and political capital needed to get the project done. SEE CASE STUDY FIFTEEN future efforts to attract investment. It is up to government to make sure that each project adds value and quality to the community. A community should not accept everything proposed. That said, municipal leaders must be flexible enough to accept projects that were not anticipated if they will benefit the community and help to achieve its goals and objectives. Think Big Andrew Altman, a nationally renowned master planner for Lubert-Adler Management, one of the largest U.S. Real Estate Opportunity Funds, advises cities and towns to “think big again – to offer big ideas to mobilize around. . . . . Mayors need to take a longterm view, a strategic and focused vision that extends beyond their term to make sure that their actions make sense for their city.” There are no quick fixes to revitalization. 61 Developers may want to build something that does not meet community vision. The town that is desperate enough to accept any kind of investment will not be well served. If the development reduces the beauty and the unique character of the location, that will harm Case Study 15 15. Bringing Private resources to Government: Irwin In the 1 square-mile Borough of Irwin, in Westmoreland County, a local bank offered the time and energy of one of its top-level executives to help the borough plan and implement a revitalization strategy. Irwin Bank and Trust, Irwin’s largest employer, had traditionally steered clear of civic affairs but in 2004, after the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor commissioned Penn State landscape architecture students to study Irwin Borough and recommend revitalization approaches, the bank’s president asked Bob Michaud, the VP for Marketing, to join Irwin’s revitalization efforts full-time. Michaud brought his background in public relations, marketing, and advertising to the newly established “Irwin Project” and worked with Borough Council to assemble a committee of citizens to renew the downtown. In only three years, the Committee for the Irwin Project and the Borough have successfully partnered with the State, other local governments, and local nonprofits, and have set Irwin on a progressive course. Michaud and the borough officials sought money to renovate their town theater to create a new destination downtown. Guided by the PA Downtown Center and working with CAT, Irwin was awarded over $3 million in state and federal grants. Having recognized the progress Irwin was making, the State provided a $210,000 grant to renovate Irwin’s Lamp Theatre. It is scheduled to reopen in 2007 and offer both live and film performances. The CAT team working with Irwin also provided a Main Street Grant to allow Irwin to hire Main Street Manager Donn Henderson, who was eager to work with Irwin because “Irwin realizes where they want to be in 10 to 20 years.”s The Irwin Project has made substantial Main Street improvements, including installing new curbs and sidewalks, improving the sewer and stormwater systems, changing traffic patterns to increase access and lower congestion, and increasing parking and signs. In 2005 Irwin Borough Council hired a consulting company to create a Comprehensive Plan for the Borough, and also participated in the State’s Blueprint Communities Revitalization Initiative. Irwin Borough (Westmoreland County) Although Bob Michaud moved on to another job outside of Irwin in early 2007, his legacy of leadership is being upheld by a new director, Jerry O’Brien, who previously served for over a year on the Steering Committee for the Comprehensive Plan. The task ahead for the Project, the Borough, and the Main Street is to continue to focus its resources on downtown and to continue its successful partnership with the private sector to attract private investment to the borough. footnotes: step two Notes: 60 http://www.civic-strategies.com/library/visionary_mayors.pdf 61 Comments of Andrew Altman, Principal, Altman Development; Reinventing Older Communities: People, Places, Markets, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Conference (March 2006). Case Studies: j Marjorie Wertz, Irwin Project, Main Street program get new leadership, Pittsburgh TribuneReview, January 12, 2007, http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/westmoreland/ s_487837.html. 43 GOAL THREE: WELCOmE INvESTmENT step two: present responsive, reliable local government http://www.civic-strategies.com/library/visionary_mayors.pdf http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/westmoreland/s_487837.html http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/westmoreland/s_487837.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Community Revitalization Desktop Guide

PA Community Revitalization Desktop Guide Table of Contents How To Attract High Impact Investment to Core Communities Goal One: Choose One Asset-Rich Redevelopment Area Interviews with Pennsylvania Mayors Goal Two: Prepare Redevelopment Area for Market Interviews with Developers who Have Invested in Pennsylvania Cities and Towns Goal Three: Welcome Investment Interviews with Developers who Have Invested in Pennsylvania Cities and Towns Goal Four: Apply Strategies That Work Conclusion

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