Downtown Marketing and Development

Insights and observations on the redevelopment and revitalization of post-industrial towns on the Route 422 Corridor in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

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Vision and Development

I was in Phoenixville the other day and found that the new downtown development is being constructed that will soon transform downtown Phoenixville. The project has been in the works since 2010. My working the project through the initial approval process was my first consulting job after the Main Street CDC in Phoenixville.

“I Am Main Street” Begins

The effort to create a more dynamic and self-sustaining downtown/neighborhood revitalization effort is finally ready to kick off. Eight downtown managers from around the state have banned together to form the “I AM MAIN STREET” organization. Starting anything from scratch is a difficult task, and there have been many ups and downs while starting this movement.

Promotions and Festivals as an Economic Development Tool

There is always a need for things to happen in a downtown around Christmas in order to spur year-end sales. It is hard for a downtown to compete with big box stores or the chain stores that are located in malls. People try to shop in the downtown central business district as a way of securing alternative goods that are not part of the homogenized offerings of the chains and the big box stores.

Downtown Development as a Profession

Many people ask me “How did you get into the downtown development business?” The fact is that I am not sure how it happened. I remember in the early years it was not really a profession, and it was hard to explain what I did for a living.

Can Something Be So Bad It Is Good?

I have worked in a number of communities that have attempted to revitalize their downtown, and faced obstacles because of poor housing stock surrounding the downtown. The commonwealth attempted to address this problem with the Elm Street program. If the housing stock around the downtown is deteriorating, in many cases it deters people from entering the area.

Future of Main Street/Budget Constraints Imperil Program

It appears that a number of things have not gone well for the Pennsylvania Main Street program the last few years. Severe budget cuts and the loss of a designated specific line item in the Commonwealth budget have hurt the program. The number of Main Street programs across the state decrease annually, as local budgets shrink along with the Commonwealth’s budget.

What Kind of Place is Your Downtown?

Summer is a good season for getting outside and walking around. The warm summer nights could afford many an opportunity to walk around in the downtown. Many times people walk around and really do not pay much attention to anything but the path in front of them.

I would like to suggest the next time you take a walk, do it in your downtown.  You will be surprised at what you see if you pay a little attention to detail.  Towns change over time but some things just remain the same.

Pennsylvania Main Street Program is Imperiled

I am the co-founder of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center and I attend their annual conference. I have not been a main street manager for a few years, so it is more a labor of love to attend than a necessity. The conference is always a good time, but this year I retired early because as I age, 10 PM has become the new 11 PM.

Elections and Downtown Management

I have been in the Main Street Management field for almost 30 years, and I have always found that public service people, like main street managers, come under greater scrutiny during an election year.  Many times, it is derived by inference. Some person running for office or supporting someone running for office normally has an agenda or platform, and if something relating to your program somehow… someway… bears any resemblance to the platform or agenda, you end up in the cross hairs.

Brownfields and Community Development

In many of the communities that I visit, there is a common problem of a contaminated property. It is considered blight, and in most cases, there is a consensus that the blight should be remedied. Sometimes it is a downtown property, as it was in Downingtown, with the O’Brien Machinery property, and other times it is in a residential area like in Forest Hills.

Change in Economic Policy

I was reading that in order to get a minister held in Turkey back there were economic sanctions (steel tariffs) imposed upon Turkey. Drastic change for the country of Turkey, and their currency took a tumble losing 14 percent of its value. People are panicking, and we are only talking about steel tariffs.

As the previous scenario is unfolding in the news, you have to start to wonder just how fragile are some of these economies in some of these countries? 

Changes in Phoenixville

I had left Phoenixville in 2012 after working for two years for Manny DeMutis and returned this past February and found that there had been a lot of changes that had taken place in my absence. I had been in Pittsburgh for a couple of years, working on a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) project, and coming home on weekends did not afford me a whole lot of time to do anything. Plus, I have been spending a lot of time in Europe, as I expanded my practice, which further restricted my availability.

Change in Transportation along the 422 Corridor

Recently I returned to Philadelphia after being in Pittsburgh the better part of the last three years looking after my father. Any of you that have elderly parents will soon find out choices in your life will sometimes take a back seat to what you have to do as a responsible family member. Although Pittsburgh, to me, is like being in social Siberia, I would not change a moment of sharing my father’s last days. 

DeMutis Group Funds Study of Options for Rail Service to Phoenixville

Phoenixville Developer Manny DeMutis took time to address the reasons why he is funding a study for the Borough to assess the possibility of options for Rail Service to Phoenixville. His proposal was presented to the borough Infrastructure Committee where it met with approval. It will be forwarded to Borough Council for a vote, where DeMutis expects an affirmative vote to proceed.

Opinion — Change in Freedom

From liberal to libelous, from “Bonzo” to Birch idol, born again. Civil rights, women's rights, gay rights… it's all wrong. Call in the cavalry to disrupt this perception of freedom gone wild. God damn it, first one wants freedom, then the whole damn world wants freedom.

Nostalgia, that's what we want… The good ol' days when we gave 'em hell? When the buck stopped somewhere, and you could still buy something with it. To a time when movies were in black and white – and so was everything else. Gil Scott Heron – Lyrics from the song, “B – Movie”

Internet and Change

I have previously written about the internet bringing people closer together than ever.  Social media lets us know people’s every move. It is now possible to let Google know your location, have amazon send all your needs through prime membership, or put your address phone number and birthdate on Facebook so all your “friends” know.  We have become reliant on our electronic information stream and to form our social networks.

Walking Around Money and Earmarks

I have been advocating for a loosening of the system statewide to bring back Walking Around Money (WAM). There was a time before the single application when the money was awarded without an application, but it was then refined to the Community Revitalization Program (CRP), which at least had a paper trail on how the money would be used.

Change and Loops in Time

As I finish up with my career I am being a little more selective concerning what I work on and try to stay closer to home. Personal circumstances have dictated that I work in Pittsburgh. My father was ill and being “himself” I was drafted to look after his final days. Living in Pittsburgh part time was a little bit different and I remembered why I left every morning when I awoke. So, I decided it would be good to center most of my work back in the Philadelphia area after he passed away and I settled the estate.

Change and Cultural Positioning

Since the onset of civilization, there has been the practice of religion. Belief in God. I say belief because there is no proof one way or the other that there is a god. That is why people talk about their faith, as they have faith that god exists.  I am not here to debate the existence of god, but in the changing political and social climate, the practice of religion has come under attack. 

Change in the Small Town

As we are moving to the ¼ mark of the new century, some of the downtown real estate has taken on a new dimension.  In many cases, the return to the small town has been an “in” thing to do. Some towns have embraced the efforts to become the renewed center of commerce, while some towns have not been able to make that transition. The difference in towns affects the real estate values in the political subdivision, and in turn the income from taxes.

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