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Centre Daily Times March 16 2005
Residents meet to decide future of Bellefonte
by Mason Neely for the CDT
"For the second time in as many months, Bellefonte residents turned out last week to help local leaders decide the future of the borough's downtown.
Organized by the Bellefonte Intervalley Area Chamber of Commerce, the March 8 meeting was the latest in a series of workshops bringing merchants, residents and community planners together to brainstorm ideas about how to revitalize and market the area.
Bill Fontana, executive director of the Pennsylvania Downtown Association, the consulting firm hired to oversee the effort, led the evening's discussion, focusing on the importance of cooperation and community in changing the borough's image.
Before a crowd of about 75 people, Fontana said that those interested in seeing downtown Bellefonte flourish will have to be honest about the attributes that make the area unique and the time and energy needed to complete the project.
He stressed throughout the meeting that the success of any revitalization project starts with an inventory of what assets a community can build on.
To get a better feel for those characteristics, the attendees were divided into discussion groups and asked to name the features and characteristics the borough offers to people who may be interested in relocating their homes or businesses to the area.
Among the variety of responses for potential homebuyers were Bellefonte's family friendly neighborhoods and housing, access to primary highways, proximity to Penn State and physical features, such as the vibrant park and waterfront district.
Businesses, many said, would be attracted by the borough's centralized commercial area, low rent and attractive storefronts.
BIACC Executive Director Jean Gerber participated in the group activity and said analyzing what makes Bellefonte tick re-vealed a community that, de-spite any shortcomings, was both ready and willing to change.
"What I found interesting about the group I was in was as you focused on the positive things, your mindset changed. Once we started talking, you really began to appreciate what's here and how much we have," she said. "We're so far ahead of the game."
The next workshop, scheduled for April 12, will be dedicating to drafting what Gerber called a formal "vision statement" for the revitalization.
"I want this to keep going deeper than just talking about what events can we plan," she said. "We want people to feel like they're a part of this process."
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