Have you heard about the new Neighborhood Revitalization project? The CDC contracted with an organization called CZB in order to do some in-depth study on our housing situation here in Beaver Falls. We asked our advisor, Charles Buki, what his impressions were of Beaver Falls based on working with us and a short visit.
Here’s what he had to say:
"Beaver Falls is the community we all wish was still the place where everyone could be from in America. You arrive in the valley and life slows down. You cross the river and slide into Beaver Falls and immediately conclude three things. First, this place is a jewel. Second, it’s obviously been neglected, but gosh what potential! Third, people here are nice. I mean really nice. You go to the McDonald’s and the girl at the drive through is NICE. You park your car and eventually someone recognizes you and they are friendly. You stop at WesBanco and the tellers are friendly. So you make your way around and look a little closer, because this is a clearly a special place. A beautiful college. Tigers signs. Really nice people. Little League ballfields. Homes with great potential. Steelers flags.
But there’s also been a tremendous amount of neglect over the years; this is a community that got whacked; that’s for sure. A two by four across the chops. Yet it’s not the bruising you notice. It’s that the people stand tall in Beaver Falls, and the neglect is being polished away by great community leaders like Doug Carson and Emily Farmer and Bethany Williams and Wendy Whelpley and so many others. You can’t help but become excited about the future in Beaver Falls.
Will progress be smooth and quick? Of course not. But the Beaver Falls CDC, with the support and vision of long time leaders like Jack Manning and Christine Kroger, is embarking on great things. Our firm - CZB, based in Alexandria Virginia has worked with more than 400 communities nationwide the last 20 years. We’ve been fortunate to work for big cities like Seattle and Austin and Atlanta, and little tiny places like Millinocket, Maine and Perry, New York. So for us, Beaver Falls was another community for us to learn from and hopefully lend support to.
Hired by the CDC, we worked hard to figure out a path forward for revitalization, but we probably learned more from the Beaver Falls community than we were able to contribute. Some of our clients are super well off places like Aspen, Colorado and Park City, Utah. And others are really struggling, like Johnstown, PA and Danville, VA. The in-between places, like Beaver Falls are the most rewarding. The challenges are immense but the spirit is in tact. The grade is steep but the commitment is powerful. When Kirsten Bestor welcomed me to the bank just to say hi, or when Jack Manning kept going on and on (and on!) about how great Beaver Falls was going to be, you just have no choice but to become a believer. Anyone who comes to Beaver Falls leaves with a faith in the community’s future.”