Latest news with #downtownrevitalization
CBS News
6 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Real estate speculators accused of preying on struggling towns like Jeannette
At one time, Jeannette was known as the glassmaking capital of the world. But after the last plant closed in the early 80s, hard times followed. Today, the city would like to breathe life back into its downtown but says out-of-state real estate speculators are standing in the way. "The hope and goal is to get every storefront on the avenue back up and running and booming with businesses and it's frustrating that we have out-of-state LLCs that play these games with these properties," city manager Ethan Keedy said. It's a game played by speculators who buy and sell the mostly derelict properties sight unseen with hopes of making a quick buck. If that doesn't happen, the buildings just sit for years, with no plans to renovate or restore them. "Every single one of these types of properties has an impact on its neighbors and the greater community," said Brian Lawrence of the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority. "There are probably hundreds of these types of properties that are being owned out-of-state LLCs that continually perpetuate this problem of blighted, vacant, abandoned buildings," Lawrence said. One example: a vacant storefront that may look OK on the outside but it's caved in and has no floor or roof. "I don't know why anyone would buy completely sight unseen," Lawrence said. And yet a California limited liability corporation bought the building in February 2022 for $3,100 and then turned around in November of that year, selling it to an LLC in Wyoming for $20,000. Today, the building and buildings like it continue to rot. Another house is barely visible from the street with all the overgrown weeds and bushes that obscure it. Inside, it's a shambles of broken glass. And yet two partners from San Diego, California, bought it in 2020 for $1,000 and haven't done a thing with it. Likewise, a vacant church has fallen into disrepair, but a Maryland investor bought it last year for $9,576. The city says it knows of no plans for any of these buildings and has been unable to get in touch with the owners about unpaid taxes and code violations. But just why speculators are buying up Jeannette and other struggling towns remains a bit of a mystery. If they can't quickly sell, many of the buyers would seem to be stuck with properties considered liabilities. The city and county think there may be certain tax advantages but believe investors are putting up little money for potentially big returns. "I think it's predatory. The places that this kind of stuff is happening — not just in Westmoreland County but across the state — it's tending to happen in communities that are already at a disadvantage in many ways. So it's doubly hurtful that this game gets played in places that deserve it the least," Lawrence said.
Hospitality Net
29-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
The Bright Group Announces Opening of The Dayton Vitality Hotel, a Tech-Enabled Lifestyle Hotel Connected to the Dayton Convention Center
The Bright Group announces the opening of Dayton Vitality Hotel, a modern, lifestyle property directly connected to the Dayton Convention Center via skywalk. The tech-forward hotel is set to become a key driver in the city's downtown revitalization, blending convenience, design, and community-focused amenities for business and leisure travelers alike. The Dayton Vitality Hotel offers Vitality's signature guest experience with self-check-in, along with a seamless blend of functionality, design, and mindful hospitality. The hotel features a pool, advanced fitness center, thoughtfully designed guest rooms, a wellness-inspired atmosphere, and vibrant communal spaces including a rooftop bar with sweeping city views, catering to both leisure travelers and business professionals. The property also features expansive meeting and event spaces, offering an ideal venue for conferences, corporate gatherings, and social events just steps from Dayton's central business district. "We are thrilled to bring the Vitality experience to Dayton, a city experiencing exciting growth," said Deniz Dorbek Kocak, CEO at The Bright Group. "This hotel embodies our vision of elevated, purpose-driven hospitality in cities on the rise, and Dayton is exactly that. The Bright Group's investment in Dayton underscores its commitment to supporting cities that are not only growing but doing so with vision, community, and innovation at the forefront." The Dayton debut follows the successful opening of Vitality Memphis in Summer 2024 and marks the brand's second flagship. The Bright Group plans five additional Vitality openings through 2026, with confirmed locations including: Marietta, GA - Targeting a late-August 2025 debut Orlando, FL; Tulsa, OK; and Reading, PA - Scheduled for phased openings through 2025 and 2026 Hotel website
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Downtown Frederick Partnership has accreditation renewed
The Downtown Frederick Partnership has had its accreditation renewed for 2025 by the Main Street America organization for its work promoting business in the city's downtown. The Partnership joins 820 other communities across the country that have met the standards of the national organization, committed to maintaining economic development and community revitalization in towns and cities around the country. Downtown Frederick Partnership Executive Director Kara Norman said in a press release that the designation shows the organization's ongoing efforts to maintain a vibrant and resilient downtown that reflects the cit's character, history, and entrepreneurial spirit. To be accredited by the national organization, communities have to demonstrate a proven record of exceptional performance in six areas, according to a press release from the Partnership. The criteria are: •broad-based community commitment to revitalization •inclusive leadership and organizational capacity •diversified funding and sustainable program operations •strategy-driven programming •preservation-based economic development •demonstrated impact and results. In 2024, the Partnership facilitated more than 3,146 volunteer hours and supported the opening of 20 new businesses downtown, according to the release. It also hosted the Main Street Maryland Conference to discuss best practices in downtown revitalization, the state's first such conference. Along with the Partnership, Frederick County has five other Main Street communities — in Brunswick, Middletown, Mount Airy, New Market, and Thurmont.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
'Out of control': Downtown Windsor councillor urges city to rethink shelter locations
Social Sharing More than a year after the City of Windsor unveiled a sweeping plan to revitalize the downtown core, violent crime and open drug use remain a serious problem, according to the councillor who represents the area. "In the past three days, I've witnessed a street brawl, multiple blocks of cars getting scratched, people chasing down those people that allegedly scratched all the cars," said Ward 3's Renaldo Agostino during Monday's city council meeting. The frustrated councillor urged the city to produce a report on the recommendation that a new homeless shelter be located within a two-kilometre radius of the city's centre, as well as the placement of shelters more broadly. "We need to do something in our downtown core in regards to some of the situations that are happening because of these shelters," he said. "What we're doing right now clearly is not working." Agostino's comments come as Windsor stares down the threat of further economic turmoil should U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs — particularly those affecting the auto industry — continue to result in job losses. But even before Trump was elected to a second term, the city was searching for a spot to build its new Homelessness and Housing Help Hub, known as H4. WATCH | In December, the city said it will continue its search for a future H4 location: City of Windsor announces it'll look elsewhere for future H4 location 5 months ago Duration 2:13 The current H4 facility, which opened as a response to pandemic-related closures, sits in the former Water World building just east of Ouellette Avenue. The city has described using the old aquatic centre as a "make-do" situation in a building that "fails on many fundamental levels of functionality." A 2022 report to council said the new facility "will still require close proximity to emergency shelters, health-care providers, harm reduction pharmacies, in addition to other core community agencies." WATCH | 'It isn't working': Downtown councillor seeks review of shelter location guidelines: 'It isn't working:' Downtown Windsor councillor seeks review of shelter location guidelines 21 hours ago Duration 2:43 One year since the City of Windsor launched its Strengthen the Core plan, downtown councillor Renaldo Agostino is expressing frustration with the state of his ward. He's questioning why homelessness services need to be within two kilometres of the downtown area. CBC's Dalson Chen spoke with the executive director of the Downtown Mission and one of the service's clients — Andre W. Two kilometres was cited by "participants, staff and service providers [...] as the desired distance for the average participant to be able to travel on foot to seek resources, which are primarily located within the boundaries of Ward 3," the report said. Agostino questioned that distance while speaking to reporters after Monday's meeting. "Why is there a two-kilometre radius on this? We should not be in neighbourhoods," he said. "We should not be in business areas. This should not be in a place where we're trying to lift up the area." Earlier during the meeting, Agostino argued those who use shelters or drug treatment centres in the downtown core are "sitting ducks for predators looking to take advantage of those who need the help," referencing drug dealers who he says park outside service centres. Agostino also said the city is spending millions "to try and manage issues that clearly have been out of control." "There is no question [that] downtown Windsor is doing the heavy lifting not just for the city, but for the entire region when it comes to homelessness, mental health and addictions issues," he said. Distance to health-care providers Rukshini Ponniah-Goulin, executive director of the Downtown Mission, said her organization needs to be "relatively close" to other service providers, such as the hospital and Canadian Mental Health Association. "When it's further away from shelters, other organizations, the individuals in shelter then can't get to those services as easily. Perhaps they can't get there at all," she said. "If they aren't able to get, you know, a bus or cab […] that sometimes stops them from moving out of shelter." One man who's staying at the Downtown Mission declined to give his full name, but said that problems with open-air drug use and crime would simply follow any new homeless help facility if the city isn't proactive about preventing problems. The man, who's from Florida and arrived in Windsor roughly two months ago, said a larger facility like H4 that provides housing and wraparound services would be helpful, but recommended it be enclosed — and clients be checked in so they aren't wandering the streets. Guelph shelter comparison? Agostino, in his remarks Monday, pointed to another city — Guelph — as a place where officials are looking at moving some shelter services outside the downtown core. However, Guelph's mayor says that's not the whole story. "That's not exactly accurate," Cam Guthrie told CBC Radio's Windsor Morning host Amy Dodge. "We feel that there is a gap in services between the overnight shelter where people are staying versus what's happening during the daytime." Guthrie says they're exploring an additional daytime shelter, but they're also mindful of where it goes in the event someone wants to bring it to the downtown, an area he says is already home to a lot of services and institutions surrounding homelessness. He says the city could put forth a recommendation that includes a geographical area where it doesn't want the shelter to end up. The issue is expected to be discussed at a meeting later this month, according to Guthrie. "I want our downtown cores to be our centre of commerce, entrepreneurial, event, tourism and attraction and the heartbeat for our downtown [...] and not continue to add to social services," Guthrie said. WATCH | Here's what some folks on Windsor's streets want you to know about homelessness: Here's what some folks on Windsor's streets want you to know about homelessness 3 months ago Duration 2:18 Guelph Coun. Erin Caton, who represents Ward 1, said there aren't any plans to move existing social services from the downtown core. "I couldn't even imagine trying to bar churches from being in the downtown and offering services that they offer," she said. "Seems a bit silly to me. We actually have quite a lot of services in our downtown." Caton also said she believes Agostino was referring to Guelph's plans regarding the new daytime shelter service, which would include showers, washrooms, storage and more. She said a range of people use those types of services, including seniors or even people who can't afford air conditioning, for which some landlords now charge extra. "At core, these are meal services and these are community spaces for people to come and chat up other people," Caton said. "So it's not one type of person that's using this, unless you consider poverty a type of person, right? It's just people who need food and need community." Poverty, Caton said, is the core issue — and municipalities are being forced "to put band aids on things that are provincial issues." Cities need funding for housing — which has become unaffordable for many people on disability — as well as substance abuse and mental health programs, she said. "So unless we're willing to really put in the resources to help solve poverty, then we're going to get crime, we're going to get everything else because people don't have any choices," she said. 'Greater variety' of downtown housing needed Dorian Moore, a local architect and urban planner, said sufficient housing — and "a greater variety" of it — could be key to driving "the demand for other amenities within the downtown," as was the case across the river in Detroit. "You get those initial groups of people down there and they create the framework and the mindset that downtown is a place to be," he said. "Downtown is a place that's cool." WATCH | Is Windsor's downtown plan working?: Is Windsor's downtown plan working? 20 hours ago Duration 3:10 CBC's Jennifer La Grassa speaks with architect and urban designer Dorian Moore about Windsor's downtown revitalization plan one year after it was endorsed by council. Moore agreed that Windsor should address homelessness and related issues, but lead with efforts to attract people to the city's core – not focus on removing others. "The missing ingredient, even though it's touched on in the plan, is what are we going to do to physically enhance the downtown and make it something that we can be proud of. And we want to bring people to the downtown, which I think is important," he said. Windsor's council said it hoped to have the report Agostino requested back before the next meeting on May 26.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Is Windsor's downtown plan working?
CBC's Jennifer La Grassa speaks with architect and urban designer Dorian Moore about Windsor's downtown revitalization plan one year after it was endorsed by council.
