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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Why Have a Downtown Keystone Communities Plan?

The Commonwealth has created the designation of Keystone Communities. To be eligible for grants, it is a good idea to have the plan and the designation. The designation gets you preferred status for grants. However, to have this status you need to hire someone to be your revitalization coordinator.

Saying YES as Part of Downtown Revitalization

It is a three-letter word but it can mean the difference between success and failure. Yes, YES is a powerful word. I used the word yes quite a bit when I got to Phoenixville.  Using yes and no at the right times is a crapshoot at best, but one must use one’s best judgment.

Why a Main Street Manager is Necessary

The main street process is a known method for revitalization using promotion, organization, economic restructuring and promotion. The four points, when implemented correctly, provide a powerful revitalization process that has provided results in small communities all across the country.

Oligarchic Influences as Limits of Behavior in a Downtown

I have been on the road a lot for the last couple of months trying to put together financing for projects. I like the opportunity to visualize a project, and then accomplish making the vision a reality. A good visualization for me is having myself in the visualization, looking at the completed project. I find that kind of process is the most effective for me. Then I figure how to fund it, and what constraints I will encounter.

Gaining Momentum for Revitalization

It happens all the time. People get together to revitalize a town, raise some money and hire a revitalization coordinator. Hopes are high that the effort will lead to revitalization of the downtown. It is hard sometimes for the group when nothing happens immediately and people get frustrated. People threaten to drop off the board and tempers flare in the meetings.

Politics and Development

The more I am out on my own working, the more I realize that politics is the essence of doing downtown development deals. Since I have worked in so many places, I have a fairly good idea of what it takes to get a project done. Elected officials, commission members and citizens all have a say in development. When a developer attempts to work in a town, there is always a need to work with the locals.

The Importance of By-Laws in Non-Profit Management

I have created many entities in my days as a revitalization coordinator. I have managed my share of 501 (C) 3 and 4s, in a number of different states. The one thing the organizations had in common is they all had by-laws.

By-laws should never be a secret document, and anyone joining a non-profit board should get a copy of the bylaws upon joining the board. The by-laws are the rules of the organization and procedures for conducting business

Transportation and Downtown Development

Transportation plays a big part of the success of a town that is revitalizing. You want your town to be automobile accessible, but at the same time, you do not want a super-highway running through your town. It is a delicate balance of convenience and walkability is always hard to achieve.

The Vacant Lot as an Asset

In a downtown, there are series of spaces that could be considered public spaces. The sum of those public spaces makes up the whole… that would be the downtown. When you are dealing with public spaces, it is necessary to devise a strategy for each place. It is not good enough to just devise one strategy when you have problematic spaces within the downtown.

How to Assess Your Downtown

The first thing that is necessary to do is look at your downtown. I believe the best way to assess is to spend some time in the downtown sitting on a bench and observe. Watch the people come and go in the downtown and see how they react to the space. I try to just act as a normal person in the downtown and try to make it not very obvious that I am there to observe to get a true sense of what is going on.

Providing Leadership

People often ask me what is economic development? I always respond that it is a process. To ensure economic development occurs, you need to organize, plan and execute, and then evaluate. There are no magic wands, and no sure fire method to be successful at economic revitalization and development. You need to find the right combination.

Creating a Community Development Corporation

The funding for downtown programs has changed as some of the new regulations continue to emerge. Every time a Governor changes the rules on the housing and development money change a little bit. Each Governor puts his or her own spin on things and tries to tailor funding toward their philosophy. 

Keystone Initiatives Centerpiece of Governor's Community Development Plan

Every time we elect a new governor, programs are tailored to meet the goals of the administration. I have dealt with the Keystone Communities in a previous column. The long and the short of that article was that there would not be any “new” Main Street or Elm Street programs awarded with the new administration. Communities have an opportunity to become a Keystone Community, but they have to pay the administrative costs by providing at least a 60 percent of a full time employee to carry out mission.

Combating Aberrant Behavior in a Downtown Setting

Many towns have problems with people on the street doing things that make consumers a little skittish when considering visiting a downtown. Many times these folks are not really doing anything bad. They are just down on their luck. But there are times when illicit activity is the prime reason for them being in the downtown.

The Wonderful World of Grants

I have been exploring what grants are out there on a federal level, and I will tell you there are many. The federal government funds all kinds of stuff. I have seen grants to fix things in foreign countries and to fund research for all kinds of things.

The other day I came upon a grant for people to drill wells, it goes like this:

How Do You Find Grant Opportunities?

How do you find grant opportunities? People ask me all the time about how could they go about getting a grant. Normally there are not too many grants for individuals, but there are some. Most of the time grants are for non-profit organizations. Any non-profit advocating for a public purpose, as defined by the IRS, is eligible for a grant. There are grants available to help individuals in the arts, as well as grants for categories and classes of people who have been underserved in the past.

Randomness in Downtowns

Fortune and fame are fleeting, as are the successes of downtown programs as they experience random events that shape their destiny. It happens all of the time. It starts with human factor of the people involved with the downtown program, and ends with the faceless corporate raider that closed the biggest downtown store.

Arts and Entertainment Trail to Be Part of Downtown Phoenixville Development

Phoenix Steel Site developer Manny DeMutis recently presented to the Phoenixville Planning Commission a plan to improve the current Schuylkill River Trail located next to the proposed downtown development. The seven-acre site is currently being reviewed by the Planning Commission as downtown infill development, which will consist of 85 thousand square feet of retail, 275 apartments, and 30 thousand square feet of office space.

Municipal Managers. Do You Get What You Pay For?

People employed in the public sector have to put up with a lot because they are always under the scrutiny of the taxpayers. Taxpayers pay the salary of public employees like a borough manager, main street manager or any number of full time officials administering departments and crews.

I watched with a little bit of amusement recent developments in Pottstown about the salary range for the prospective new borough manager. The question is “Do You Get What You Pay For”??

Code Enforcement and the Public Good

One of the tools that is available to a revitalization manager is the use of the code enforcement official. Some locales will partner with the local housing group or the main street organization to deal with problem properties. I have always made it a priority to get to know these people.

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