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Release Date: Thursday, February 7th 2008
Tribune-Review: City's cafe culture gets $1M boost
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Under a plan to be formally announced next week by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership called "Paris to Pittsburgh," $1 million in funding from the nonprofit Colcom Foundation is being made available to encourage restaurants and retailers to expand their operations onto sidewalks -- similar to venues popular with tourists in the French capital.
"Paris to Pittsburgh will be especially valuable for coffee shops, bookstores, florists and restaurants, to expand their space onto their sidewalks and attract more customers," said Michael Edwards, the partnership''s CEO and president, in an interview with the Tribune-Review on Wednesday.
The Paris to Pittsburgh project is one of two economic development initiatives that the Downtown business advocacy organization will discuss at its annual meeting on Tuesday. The partnership has 243 business members and 350 property owners pay a special assessment to fund its operations.
It will announce an Upstairs Fund, a $3.5 million program designed to advance its ongoing effort to help property owners convert vacant upper floors in Downtown buildings into residential opportunities.
The fund was created with the help of $1.75 million in loans from the Heinz Endowments and a like amount from the city''s Urban Redevelopment Authority, secured with the assistance of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Pat Ford, URA executive director, Edwards said.
An additional $250,000 grant from the McCune Foundation helped establish the program that will provide loans to owners of Downtown buildings with less than eight stories. The money will help owners develop residential projects by providing financing for elevators, fire safety equipment and roof replacement.
"We hope to do about five to six loans this year, which will provide in excess of 50 units of housing Downtown," Edwards said.
The Colcom Foundation grant for the Paris to Pittsburgh program could help fund 68 projects, with a target to do half this year, Edwards said.
Michael Pfeuffer, owner/operator of MixStirs Cafe in Market Square, is hailing the program''s worth. His business, which opened in November, was used as a test for the new program.
Working with $14,000 of their own funds matched by a like amount from the new fund, Pfeuffer and his partner, Andrew Sysak, were able to install colorful retractable awnings, lighting and signage.
Later this year, they will use additional matching funds to open up the front facade of the restaurant with 13-foot-large glass panels called Nano Walls that can open and close. When completed, the overall cost is expected to be about $63,000, with $31,000 of that Paris to Pittsburgh funds.
"This will enable us to add 24 tables out front," said Pfeuffer. "We can seat 32 people inside, so that will help us almost double our existing space."
The partnership hopes the next client to use the fund will be a new Middle Eastern restaurant that may open at the vacant Frenchy''s restaurant site on Sixth Street near Heinz Hall, Edwards said.
The ability to attract such businesses is testament to how initiatives like the organization''s Safety Ambassadors program and cooperative efforts with city police are working to improve the atmosphere Downtown, he said.
For example, the group has documented 2,690 "passive" and 1,218 "aggressive" panhandling situations addressed by its safety ambassadors in 2007.
The organization has stepped up efforts to help homeless people Downtown, including developing an outreach book describing resources available to help those individuals.
