Blueprint Communities Projects Awards Mini-Grant to Brownsville

Contact:
Dennis Cremonese
Executive Director
Brownsville Area Revitalization Corporation
724-785-9331

Neil Cotiaux
FHLBank Pittsburgh
412-335-9488
Neil.cotiaux@fhlb-pgh.com


Brownsville is Awarded Mini-Grant for Blueprint Communities Projects


Pittsburgh, PA, December 8, 2011 – The Blueprint Communities initiative of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) of Pittsburgh has awarded Brownsville a $10,000 mini-grant. The grant will be used to help fund the Brownsville Project, an initiative of the National Road Heritage Corridor.

The Brownsville Project has three components: a comprehensive study of current physical conditions of the vacant buildings in the Brownsville Commercial Historic District owned by the Redevelopment Authority of Fayette County; development of design guidelines for the entire district; and a market analysis of the community to aid in redevelopment efforts within the Historic District.

Earlier this year, FHLBank invited active Blueprint Communities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to submit project applications as part of a competitive mini-grant funding process. Projects were evaluated for their ability to expand the capacity of Blueprint teams, leverage dollars, and positively impact the community. Of 16 applications received, six projects were awarded a total of $63,000.

The Blueprint Communities effort in Brownsville is spearheaded by a committee made up of business and Borough leaders. The group was formed in 2005 as one of 22 original Blueprint Communities across Pennsylvania. The initiative was created to help civic leaders in older, smaller communities develop enhanced leadership skills, create greater capacity to enact positive change, and formulate a fresh vision and strategy to meet pressing community needs.

Blueprint Communities is expected to serve as an ongoing catalyst for projects of local importance. In the past, the Brownsville team has been involved in the Brownsville Annual Community Festival, in a partnershippartnered with the Brownsville Environmental Education Program, and is working towardon publishing a water trail map of the Middle Monongahela River.

FHLBank Pittsburgh is a wholesale bank that serves the housing finance and community and economic development needs of its owner-members. FHLBank Pittsburgh provides reliable access to low-cost funds, competitive pricing in the purchase of mortgage loans, correspondent banking, technical assistance, affordable housing grants and other programs so members can better serve their own communities. FHLBank Pittsburgh is privately capitalized and funded and does not use taxpayer dollars. As of September 30, 2011, the Bank had 300 members in its district of Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and held approximately $47 billion in assets. FHLBank Pittsburgh is one of twelve Banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, established by Congress in 1932 to support the residential mortgage activities of local financial institutions.
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A Red Hot Gala Ushers in The Public's Upcoming Season

Hayden Tee

Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Red Hot Gala


Pittsburgh Public Theater’s A Red Hot Gala takes place on Saturday, May 7, at Downtown’s Westin Convention Center Hotel, co-chaired by J. Rich Alexander, Executive Vice President of PPG Industries and Kari & Steven Guy, President and CEO of Oxford Development Company.

The theme of this year’s fundraiser anticipates The Public’s upcoming season, which will include a new production of Red, John Logan’s 2010 Tony Award-winner about the artist Mark Rothko.

Set to a hot Latin beat, Cocktail Hour will feature exquisite hors d’oeuvres, performances by ballroom dancers, living art works, and interactive digital photography that will allow guests to “star” in next season’s shows. This will be followed by A Dinner to Arouse Your Palate, An Auction to Awaken Your Desire, and A Performance to Electrify Your Senses starring Hayden Tee, the king of Camelot.

At 9 pm, the guests will become the stars of the ballroom and dance the night away. All proceeds benefit Pittsburgh Public Theater programming. Tickets are available by contacting Maureen Keane at 412.316.8200 ext. 723 or mkeane@ppt.org.

Sun Rising on Brownsville's Redevelopment Prospects

For Immediate Release


Jan. 11, 2011

"Brownsville on the move – remembering the past, but moving forward" – Mayor Lester Ward

Sun Rising on Brownsville's Redevelopment Prospects

BROWNSVILLE, Pa. – Seven students from the Brownsville Area School District's art department will lead a community initiative on behalf of the borough's mayor to showcase five historic buildings now controlled by the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority.

The students will gather at 10 a.m. Jan. 17 in the Market Street parking lot to construct a mural that will be expanded as more buildings become available for redevelopment and adaptive reuse. The students' community day is being held in conjunction with AmeriCorps Vista's Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 2011, a nationwide annual event promoting volunteerism as a tribute to the late Civil Rights leader.

Brownsville Borough Mayor Lester Ward initiated the multi-faceted project, which is aimed at marketing the buildings' availability to the more than 8,000 motorists who daily pass through the downtown while depicting the progress of an ongoing eminent domain case by the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority.

"What we're trying to do is bring some light to these buildings, bring light back into the town," explains the mayor, "and bring some hope."

The project's first phase will target vacant commercial properties recently acquired by the redevelopment authority – 5 Market St., 21 Market St., 18-24 Market St., 35 Market St. and 43-47 Market St. During the borough's heyday in the 1960s, commercial uses included specialty shops, a department store and a Murphy's 5&10, a now-defunct chain that embedded itself into the fabric of prosperous towns.

BASD's art students selected a sun design by senior Kendle Parsons as the focal point for a colorful mural featuring stencils of their silhouettes on the vacant storefronts. The conceptual phase included design input from AmeriCorps OSM/Vista's local volunteer Blake B. Fisher and BASD art department director Brian Nicholson.

"I've never really seen anything happening in Brownsville. I've heard it used to be busy and there were things to do. Now, there's nothing," says Parsons, who will be attending Waynesburg University in the fall. "Our project is the beginning of something new to signify Brownsville's rebirth."

In addition to Parsons, the participating BASD students are seniors Jared Gibson, Karen Ross, Gabby Vaughn and Parsons plus juniors Chad Gump, Garret Rohrer and Matt Karol.

The students' project is sanctioned by the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority, Brownsville Area School District, Brownsville Blueprint Communities Committee, Brownsville Borough, Greater Brownsville Area Chamber of Commerce, Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp., Brownsville Rotary Club, AmeriCorps Vista and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 2011.
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For additional information, schedule photos or interviews:

Andrew French, Executive Director, Fayette County Redevelopment Authority, 724-437-1547 ext. 210

Brownsville Mayor Lester Ward, 724-785-3363

Brian Nicholson, BASD art department director, 724-785-2021