Community Revitalization Desktop Guide

How The Community Action Team (CAT) Works Each CAT project has a Strategic Investment Ofﬁcer as a primary point-of-contact on impact projects. The Strategic Investment Ofﬁcer works with the Mayor or other top elected ofﬁcials to assess the community’s plans, determine impact and readiness, and identify project needs. Once there is a high impact project that is ready to go, the Strategic Investment Ofﬁcer will help bring together public and private resources with state funds being the last dollars put into a project. CAT’s deﬁnition of an impact project is a communitychanging revitalization project that includes multiple components and targets development using a variety of local, state, federal and private investment resources. In addition, through the life of the project, it achieves overall redevelopment, improves existing infrastructure, increases job opportunities, grows sustainable businesses, restores the environment, enhances recreational and heritage resources, expands housing opportunities, and sometimes involves long-term regional planning. The SIO is the single point of contact between the community and the Commonwealth, alleviating the need for the community to pursue each agency or department for separate funding. At the state level, each agency belongs to the Community Action Interagency Team. This internal team reviews CAT designated projects. Since most projects have multiple components which require speciﬁc program funding, the SIO orchestrates the application process for each department. For example, if a pocket park is part of a plan, the SIO will engage the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. If there is a housing component within a community plan, the SIO will engage Pennsylvania Housing and Finance Authority for the most appropriate program. The agencies work as a team to prioritize projects based on CAT assessment and designation. A revitalization project in the City of New Castle provides a good example of how CAT works with local ofﬁcials to enhance a high-impact revitalization project. The City and a private market developer, Cedar Tree Companies, identiﬁed an opportunity to build a project on the site of Warner Brothers’ ﬁrst silent ﬁlm studio in downtown New Castle. The aim was to re-create the historical and entertainment appeal of the Theatre but the location was unattractive, surrounded by blight, and lacked parking and other amenities. The City took the lead in spending its own funds to ﬁnance sweeping public improvements (streets, sidewalks, sewers) and to undertake aggressive blight removal through acquisition and demolition of key properties in the target area. The City invested in a HUD 108 loan of $2.6 million and city bond funds totaling another $2.3 million to improve the target area and attract development. With the City’s investments and improvements, the developer committed to acquire the land and construct the $9 million Cascade Riverplex complex. The City’s decision to target all local resources to this one area, combined with the attractiveness of the area to private investors, led the State to grant $5 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program funds to complete the public improvements and help create a parking solution in the project area. At this point the Community Action Team became aggressively engaged in the project. After natural disasters added to construction costs and bids came in over budget, the CAT Team worked to close funding gaps and keep the project moving forward. A CAT Team package of ﬁnancial assistance provided state grants allowing New Castle to complete the construction of three urban parklets and complete additional streetscaping improvements. A signiﬁcant low-interest loan to the developer allowed the completion of the build-out of space for the ﬁrst anchor tenant, the Mill Street Grill restaurant, which opened in February, 2006. The CAT Team then took the lead in adding project components in the target area that would contribute to the revitalization of the area. Working with the Governor’s Action Team (GAT), incentives were provided to attract a new startup company, RecordFusion, LP, to a speciﬁc abandoned site in the immediate project area. An expanded riverwalk and other components have also enhanced the total project. The Commonwealth’s Community Action Team (CAT) has been instrumental in assisting the City of New Castle and its private developer in expediting and coordinating the public/ private partnership essential to the revitalization of an urban center such as the City of New Castle’s central business district. The CAT Team remains engaged in New Castle, coordinating the state investment through the application, contracting, and disbursement process; helping structure project phasing and timelines; and coordinating state agency involvement in the regulatory and permitting processes. The CAT Team engagement assisted the project by: · Adding project components to catalyze a larger coordinated, targeted, mixed-use downtown revitalization strategy. · Identifying opportunities to apply state grant, loan, and economic stimulus programs in an appropriate and synergistic manner. · Awarding a comprehensive package of state ﬁnancial assistance to various project components. · Providing technical assistance on state economic development programs and the respective processes for accessing state funds. · Coordinating inter-agency and inter-governmental participation in the project. · Successfully building on project plans to coordinate a larger, community-changing impact project. 6

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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