“The Growth Fund has been a tremendous support. Without such an organization willing to fund pre-development needs, several projects would have not moved forward at all.” ~ Tami Sealy, President of BARC.
Read the Herald-Standard news story for even more information.
L-R: Brad Clemensen, PA Environmental Council; Donna Holdorf, Nat’l Road Heritage Corridor; Valerie Bacharach, CFFC Board Chair; Kristina Haluska, Brownsville Free Public Library; Beth Reseter, Friendship Hill Association (Photo credit: Patty Yauger)The Community Foundation of Fayette County presented four grants today to local nonprofit organizations working on economic development opportunities and revitalization efforts.
According to Marilyn J. McDaniel, Community Foundation CEO, “We are very excited to support these projects that emphasize collaborations. We have seen excellent results from groups and communities overcoming barriers by working together.”
Awardees in this round include:
- Brownsville Free Public Library ($8,000): Landscape designs for the reuse of newly acquired adjacent property and a conservation plan for the slope to Dunlap Creek. This is first phase of predevelopment toward an expansion of the library facility to relocate the children’s library and bathrooms to street level access in a wind adjacent to the historic existing building. Kristina Haluska, Librarian, accepted for the Library.
- Friendship Hill Association ($3,000): Landscape design plans for the gateway entry to Point Marion Borough and entrance to Point Marion Community Park. Welcome signs send an immediate message of pride in the community and offer that key first impression to visitors. Beth Reseter, Secretary, accepted for the Friendship Hill Association.
- National Road Heritage Corridor ($2,500): Best Practices Tour with municipal and civic leadership engaged in Brownsville’s historic district to experience first-hand successful redevelopment projects in comparable communities across in PA with similar downtown districts. Donna Holdorf, Executive Director, accepted for the Nation Road Heritage Corridor.
- Pennsylvania Environmental Council ($8,000): Feasibility study of the restoration of historic coke ovens near the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail just outside of Connellsville. There are few tourism-ready sites of coke ovens from this significant period of local industrial history in Fayette County. Brad Clemenson, Sr. Project Manager, accepted for the PA Environmental Council.
In 2008, the first of now nearly 40 Growth Fund grants began to be awarded in Fayette County. Support has come from The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, an Anonymous Foundation, The Eberly Foundation, First Niagara Bank, PNC Wealth Management and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
According to Program Officer, Cathy McCollom, “Projects in five target communities have benefitted Brownsville, Connellsville, Ohiopyle, Point Marion and Uniontown. Funding pre-development needs serves to move projects forward that would have either have been greatly delayed or not viable at all.” Over the years, after initial grants and ongoing technical assistance from the Community Foundation, many of the Growth Fund projects carried forward through leveraging millions of dollars in additional investment from private and public sources.
