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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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.

Opinion — Globalization and Change

There has been an effort on behalf of some to initiate a global agenda in the United States. After all, we are part of the world, and we are all brothers and sisters. Global barriers are breaking down, and there is an effort for people to consider themselves citizens of the world, rather than a particular nation.  

Change is in your Mind

I always try to broaden my horizons. I did not care too much for school when I was young. I also did not do well. Most of my attention was not geared toward academic achievement.  Most of the kids in my New Jersey High School were hovering around 97 – 99 percent on whatever that test was that measured our intelligence, while others like me did not score as well.

Changes in Health Insurance

Yet another change in Health Insurance is on the horizon. I was looking at the proposed plans, and there seemed to be one common thread — the 40 percent excise tax is coming my way. People like me are looking at a one-year total of about $342 billion in increased taxes. As before, there is no help for me on the horizon. I am part of the old system and my kind of plan is now scorned.

Change the Elector Process

I realized the other day that I am on a vast array of mailing lists from far left to far right, and pretty much everything in the middle. I did receive something about a month ago that made me wonder about the entire process of selection.

Hoops of Change

I have been given the liberty to change my column to write about CHANGE. I believe that I am the only officially recognized agent of change in Pennsylvania. I have the necessary skill set to write about change. Elements of change are everywhere around us, as we interact with media, institutions and individuals. I hope to be able to comment intelligently about changes that happen to and around us. Some of what I write is going to make people uncomfortable, but that is what change is all about.

Sanctuary Cities Downtown II

Two months ago I wrote an article about wage slavery in the downtown, and just recently there has been a nationwide “Day Without Immigrants” protest illustrating my point. 

I wrote:

Being the grandson of an illegal Italian immigrant who had trouble with the law, I have sympathy for the plight of the illegal immigrant. I also realize that in the cities, the economy, to a certain extent, relies on the ability to cheat the illegal immigrant on matters of wage, hours and conditions of employment because they have no redress in those matters.

Promotions, Law Enforcement and Merchant Backlash

The Main Street process has four points: Economic Restructuring, Organization, Design and Promotion. Promotion is always the one that has been my favorite, even though the economic restructuring is what everyone wants in the end.

Promotion is key in the strategic repositioning of the downtown. It is something to do when you come to a town. It is a draw for people to come to a downtown. For many people, it is what they think of the downtown.

Sanctuary Cities Downtown

In a past article, I discussed the potential for labor abuse involving illegal aliens in the downtown. The lack of redress of grievances based upon illegal immigration status leads to abuse in many instances. They are a large supplier of day labor for food service facilities and “hitching post” type parking lot labor availability sites, the most famous of these sites being the Acme parking lot in Manasquan New Jersey. 

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