Grant awarded to spur renewal in Wilkinsburg
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Efforts to revitalize Wilkinsburg's business and residential corridors will receive a much-needed boost before year's end in the form of a multi-year grant totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
TriState Capital Bank will award $289,500 to the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corp. through a grant made available by the state Department of Community and Economic Development's Neighborhood Partnership Program.
In conjunction with Landmarks Community Capital Corp., the grant will support Main Street redevelopment, green initiatives, crime-reduction efforts and youth programs in the community.
The grant has been approved for six years, but funding is contingent upon the continued existence of the Neighborhood Partnership Program.
"The NPP funding serves as one more key piece of real evidence of our renewal of Wilkinsburg," Mayor John Thompson, who also serves as president of the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corp., stated in a news release.
"The founding of the Community Development Corporation in 2007 was an important start, and as we've worked together to create a comprehensive community plan to establish a goal and plan to become a Main Street community, we've continued to make progress that is substantial and positive for our residents, businesses and community partners."
Landmarks President Howard Slaughter said: "This partnership will perpetuate positive economic sustainability, housing restoration and a systemic rebirth of the character and vitality of Wilkinsburg -- using competitive, strategic, pragmatic and technological tools as new opportunities for a re-energized and stronger Wilkinsburg futuristically."
The community development corporation expects to receive the grant funds before the end of the month.
First Published December 17, 2009 5:59 am
