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At the September meeting of the Charleroi Area Historical Society, two speakers will outline recent development projects by the community development corporations in Brownsville and Charleroi.

These two community development corporations were formed in the late 1980s to serve as a non-profit developer for each community. A community-based board of directors selects projects, applies for grants, purchases real estate, finds ways to develop the real estate to increase its value to the greater community, and ultimately sells it, retaining any profits to make the next project possible.

Adele Hopkins will represent the Greater Charleroi Community Development Corporation. Since forming, GCCDC has focused on making repairs to existing houses in Charleroi and/or building new houses. The new houses the group has built have been on the site of the former Meadow Avenue School, between Meadow and Crest Avenues near Fifth Street. About 2001, GCCDC developed the former Meadow Avenue School site, using completely new construction, into seven condominiums known as Meadowcrest Commons. The project represents over $1 million in development.

Norma Ryan will represent Brownsville. Brownsville experienced a dramatic downturn in the early 1980s, followed by a period of real estate speculation in which a large number of the commercial buildings in the downtown area, an important central area that Brownsville calls “The Neck Business District,” ended up vacant, boarded up, and in declining condition. In the same era, The Brownsville Community Development Corporation formed and restored the historic Flatiron Building as a heritage center, art museum, and offices. They also acquired about 10 other commercial properties. Currently, they have a large storefront rehabilitation project underway about half a block below the heritage center. Neighboring their project, a major senior housing complex is about to be built, and across the street, the Brownsville Library is about to undertake a major expansion, doubling the size of the facility.

Terry Necciai will moderate the discussion. He was a founding member of GCCDC, and he has conducted about 16 architectural and/or report projects in Brownsville, several of which were for BARC.

This program is designed to dovetail with the Charleroi Historic Preservation Plan, which is underway at this time by Necciai’s firm. The Charleroi Preservation Plan will provide guidance to building owners and community members on ways to preserve the individual buildings in the Charleroi Historic District. The district contains approximately 1,800 historic buildings, mostly small houses, but also about 350 small storefront buildings. The plan will help to guide actions by various agencies involved in the borough, and it will help to promote historic preservation in Charleroi, as well as promoting Charleroi’s image.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m., September 21st, at Riverside Place, Chamber Plaza, Charleroi. The general public is invited to attend, and refreshments will be served.

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