York Strives To Emulate Bethlehem And Lancaster – By Becoming A Walkable Community

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A goal that emerged from the Build York Summit, that concluded yesterday, was for York to become a walkable community.  We here at Roy’s Rants think is a great goal.  York has a compact and very historic downtown like Lancaster and Bethlehem.

Urban land use expert, Chris Leinberger from the Brookings Institute was a keynote speaker at the conference and emphasized that York should embrace the “walkable community” strategy to redevelop the city.  Walkable communities are desired by college students as well as other segments of the population.  Walkable communities have a higher rate of retention once students graduate college and seek employment.  York is already a college town so this strategy could be easily implemented and bear fruit quickly.

Downtown Inc. Director, Sonia Huntzinger took this a step further and said York could also capitalize on the city’s hospitals.  Hospitals tend to be large employers.  Having a vibrant, walkable downtown to present to prospective employees would make recruitment easier for the hospitals.

Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre

Auditions for MSMT 2011 season—’The Music Man,’
‘Godspell,’—will be held Feb. 27 and 28.

Children’s auditions for ‘Music Man’ scheduled for March 1-2

Technical positions and high school internships also available.

Allentown, Pa. (Feb. 10, 2011) — Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre will hold open auditions for adult performers on Feb. 27 and 28, and for children ages 6 to 13 on March 1 and 2. Performers will be cast for both of the season’s mainstage productions: Meredith Willson‘s “The Music Man,” June 15 – July 3, and Stephen Schwartz’s “Godspell,” July 13-31.

The following audition details can also be found online, at www.summerbroadway.org.

Vocal auditions for adults (ages 16 and up) will be held Sunday, Feb. 27, from 2 to 7 p.m., and Monday, Feb. 28, from 6 to 11 p.m. Auditions will be held in the Empie Theatre, Baker Center for the Arts, on the Muhlenberg College campus. Vocal audition appointments are three minutes.

Dance auditions for adults only will be held Sunday, Feb. 27, from 12 to 2 p.m. and Monday, Feb. 28, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the Dance Studio Theatre, Trexler Pavilion for Theatre and Dance. Dance auditions will take about half an hour. Auditioners will be taught a short dance sequence, which they will then perform. No preparation is required.

Children ages 6 to 13 will be cast for the ensemble of “The Music Man” in a special audition, Tuesday, March 1, and Wednesday March 2, from 5 to 7 p.m, in the rehearsal hall in the Trexler Pavilion for Theatre and Dance. There is no dance audition for children. Children must be under five feet tall in order to audition. Auditions are in three-minute appointments.

All auditioners must register in advance and schedule an audition. Auditioners should send an e-mail to boxoffice@muhlenberg.edu before Friday, Feb. 25, indicating available dates and times within the scheduled audition, and providing a mobile phone number where the auditioner can be reached with questions.

Those without access to e-mail should call the Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance office at 484-664-3087, during regular office hours before Thursday, Feb. 24. Voice messages should contain all of the above information.

All adult auditioners will be assigned a time for both a dance audition and a vocal audition, and should plan to dance and sing, even if they concentrate in just one area. It is possible for a performer to be cast based on a strong audition in just singing or just dance.
Auditioners for both shows—including children ages 6 to 13—should prepare a memorized vocal selection of 16 to 32 bars. Adults should sing something from a classical Broadway show other than “The Music Man,” from about 1980 or earlier. Women should not use a belt voice or mix; men interested in the role of Marcellus may belt.

In the children’s audition, girls should sing a ballad in the style of “The Music Man”; no belting, please. Boys should prepare an up-tempo number, also in the style of the show; belt voice is okay.

The musical directors request that you do not sing from the “The Music Man” or “Godspell” scores. An accompanist will be provided for the vocal audition. You must bring sheet music in the key in which you would like to sing, with your 16- to 32-bar selection indicated and any cuts clearly noted.  Please no accompaniment tapes.

The directors are looking for a wide range of ages and types for each production, and community members are strongly encouraged to audition.

Callback auditions will be held March 17-21, and will include acting auditions, reading from the script. Details will be provided as necessary, but auditioners should hold the dates if possible.
Non-performing opportunities are available for technicians and costumers. Carpenters, electricians, props technicians, light board and sound board operators, and stage crew are needed for productions. Costumers, first hand, stitchers, and wardrobe running crew are needed in the costume shop.

High school stage management internships are available for those who will be at least 16 years old by the time they begin working for MSMT. Interns work alongside college students and professionals from the College, and guest artists from New York, learning valuable skills that they can take back to their high school programs. Interns receive a $400 stipend for the summer.

The application deadline for technicians, costumers, and administrative personnel is March 1. Applications can be found online at www.summerbroadway.org. Completed applications can be sent to boxoffice@muhlenberg.edu.

Community Health Systems Buys Up Three More Hospitals In Northeast Pennsylvania

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As residents of Pottstown and Phoenixville know first hand, things change when Community Health Systems (CHS) buys your local hospital.  CHS owns Pottstown Memorial Medical Center and Phoenixville Hospital.

CHS is continuing to expand their presence in Pennsylvania with the purchase of three hospitals in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Metropolitan Area.  CHS, who already owns Wyoming Valley Health Care System since 2009, has entered into an agreement with Mercy Health Partners to purchase Mercy Hospital in Scranton, Mercy Tyler Hospital in Tunkhannock and Mercy Special Care Hospital in Nanticoke.  Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is part of Wyoming Valley Health Care System and already owned by CHS.

The standard CHS rhetoric has followed: hire all employees in good standing at the time of the sale (same position, pay and seniority), CHS promised to invest $68 million in the first five years, set up a community foundation and donate $2 million, maintain the status quo for five years and treat employees with dignity and respect.

All I can say is, based on what happened in Pottstown, things will change.  We narrowly averted a strike because employees were disgruntled, claimed to be overworked and salary/benefits changes were proposed.  CHS does invest in hospital infrastructure, equipment and recruit physicians as promised.

Wyoming Valley Heath Care System in Luzerne County’s largest employer.   http://www.wvhcs.org/About/Pages/About%20Us.aspx

Building York: A Community & Economic Development Summit

A Building York summit was called by York Mayor C. Kim Bracey and her partners to identify economic and community development opportunities and challenges that face the York Metropolitan area.  The summit means to:  identify goals, educate the community, spur redevelopment in the urban core, accelerate investment, formulate new ideas, and create momentum, partnerships and a sense of urgency.

The goal of the two-day summit, which ended Thursday, was to formulate a plan of action from 2011 through 2015.

One of the cool events was the screening of a film called “My Tale of Two Cities” by Carl Kurlander.  The film chronicles where Pittsburgh was, where Pittsburgh is and how Pittsburgh reinvented itself.  Kurlander gave an inspirational talk to the large crowd and said things like:  believe in the possible, what happens in York matters to everyone and do not tear down all the beautiful historic buildings!  It was a message of hope and what can be accomplished if the entire York community pulls together.

Sessions offered to participants were on topics such as:  sustainable infrastructure and Pennsylvania’s green economy, best practices in urban renewal, residential reinvestment and new methods and practices in urban redevelopment and investment.  The sessions were followed by roundtable discussions, led by York civic and community leaders.

Two Roy’s Rants thumbs up to York City and County leadership for working together to improve the entire York Metro area!

Developer Charlie Jefferson: A Driving Force Behind Scranton’s Downtown Renaissance

 Connell Building exterior

My trip to Scranton included meeting and touring with Charlie Jefferson, along with Mayor Doherty.  Charlie is a Scranton developer who has a passion for his work and a desire to see Scranton blossom.  Charlie is responsible for the dramatic transformation of the Connell Building.  Charlie, like Mayor Doherty, is very down-to-earth and approachable.

Charlie took us inside the Connell Building.  The eight-story building sat vacant for 10 years before being developed.  The building’s occupancy rate was about 20 percent for ten years before becoming vacant.  Now there are 89 new 1 – 2 bedroom, market-priced, luxury loft apartments.  The building has been beautifully restored, while maintaining historical integrity and bringing the building up to code.  Every loft is rented.  There is a waiting list!  I have no interior pictures of any apartments because there is no model and Charlie was unable to contact anyone who might have let us tour and photograph their apartment home.  Maybe next trip!

The bottom two floors of the Connell Building will be used for commercial/retail/office.  This will be a great example of mixed-use development when this part is finished.  Charlie said he is working with a grocery store to move into the building along with other tenants to fill the remaining commercial/retail/office space.  Imagine the convenience of going down an elevator to the grocery store.  No driving, parking and traffic!  City living at its finest!

Another nice feature of the Connell Building is the attached parking garage.  Secure garage parking is available to all the residents of the Connell Building if they choose to rent a space.

Over 50% of the Connell Building’s tenants are new residents to Scranton and Lackawanna County.  There is a growing segment of people who want to live in a redeveloped heritage property.  These people are usually well-educated professionals who want the best urban living has to offer.  There are looking for walkable downtowns with fine restaurants, shopping, cultural events, services and entertainment.  Concentrated pockets of people in a downtown, with disposable income, will greatly increase the customer base for stores, restaurants and other businesses in general.  This phenomenon is not necessarily limited to the 20’s – 30’s demographic.  There are more middle-agers and seniors who want to sell the house, downsize and become urban dwellers entering this emerging market.

The Connell Building’s first tenant is a grandson of the building’s original owner.  He was very excited to see his family’s former building redeveloped and wanted to be part of the renaissance in Scranton.

Charlie’s newest project is the redevelopment of the former Chamber of Commerce Building, not far from the Connell Building.  The building is now vacant.  Like the Connell Building, the old Chamber Building was constructed during Scranton’s King Coal heyday.  It is very opulent.  Charlie plans to do the same thing with this building as he did with the Connell Building.  It is expected that Scranton will need 600 more apartments/condominiums in the next 5 years because of the medical college and spin-off development.  If the law school becomes a reality, that number will substantially increase. 

Charlie took us inside the old Chamber Building and we poked around.  Structurally it is in great shape and ripe for development.  The building has amazing architectural features and many of the apartments will feature spectacular views of downtown Scranton.  There will be balconies!  This project will rent out quickly because of the location and unique features of the space.  The success of the Connell Building has paved the way for further mixed-use development downtown.

I am looking forward to the completion of Charlie’s newest project.  It promises to be amazing.

Having a great developer, like Charlie Jefferson, to work with is a huge part of the redevelopment process.  Mayor Doherty has surrounded himself with some very competent people to help turn his vision for Scranton into a reality.

 

Chamber Building pictures below, currently vacant awaiting development!