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

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.

Pass Through Organizations as a Method of Securing Development

In the past couple of months, I have had the opportunity to chat with many communities, as I have attempted to secure clients. I have spoken to communities small and large and many face the same problems— lack of institutional understanding of the development process.

Why Main Street Still Works

The Four Point Main Street Approach works well in communities that employ the strategy faithfully. The four points are organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring.

Changes In The System

Just as things change on the local level, programs and priorities change on a statewide level. As I have written in previous articles, most new administrations try something a little different than the administration that preceded them.

The Corbett administration has changed the way that the Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program (RCAP) functions. There was a program name change to Redevelopment Assistance Capital Programs (RACP) (pronounced RACK-P). The changes did not stop there, it became more of a regular program and counted upon for development projects.

Why Revitalized Towns Have Tax Inequalities

A revitalizing town creates a lot of buzz. People are always coming up to me and telling me how much they enjoy going to Phoenixville or South Street. The people who invested money in the downtowns were responsible for the revitalization.

Once a property is revitalized, it is because there has been an investment to the systems, the building envelope, and some cosmetic improvements. Although many people like the way the buildings looks, in most cases the most expensive part is what you do not see, the roof, HVAC and the electrical improvements.

Historic Building Restoration

I have enjoyed becoming a consultant, and not working exclusively in any particular town, as that has afforded me an opportunity to pick my projects. Some projects stand out more than others because of their unique nature. I try to take projects, big and small, and give them my full attention.

Stop Turning Railbeds to Trails

Not every barn needs a group of kids saying, “Hey, here’s a vacant barn! Let’s put on a show.” Similarly, not every railbed needs a trail. I am sure that many people use the trail system in the Philadelphia area and support the conversion of railbeds to trails passionately. I admit that the trails are used quite often by people.

Institutional Resistance When Initiating Change

People think that when change happens, it happens quickly and swiftly. That is not the case in most situations. Being an agent of change, I have gotten used to it and try not to take it personally when I am attacked for “not knowing what I am doing.”

Practical Application of Amenity as an Enhancement of Value

The revitalization of Phoenixville has led to the increase in value of the commercial properties, as well as some of the surrounding residential properties. When the streetscape amenities were installed, people looked differently at the town and the price of real estate. Between the years of 2003 and 2010, assessed property value in Phoenixville increased by approximately $150,000,000 and grew at a rate of 25 percent. Now Phoenixville is about to take another giant leap in value.

Ramps to Nowhere

Last Saturday morning my wife and I were going out to breakfast and she pointed at the Wendy’s on Route 30 in Thorndale and remarked about the fact that they used such big stones that people waiting for the bus had to stand on the road to wait for the bus. There was not a lot of room between the cart way and the curb, making it a dangerous bus stop.

Phoenixville Rail Service? — Localized Finance Models and a Changing Paradigm

We have passed my first initiative challenge in attempting to bring train service to Phoenixville. On September 11, 2018 Borough Council approved without comment or question that we should proceed with the investigation to determine if we are able to create passenger rail service to Phoenixville.

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”