Work Ongoing At Downingtown Pocket Park

DOWNINGTOWN, PA – The upgrading of fencing is the first step of the Downingtown Main Street Association’s revitalization of the borough’s Armor Alley Pocket Plaza. The borough is cooperating with the Main Street group.

“One of the main goals of the mission of the Main Street Association is to help Downingtown grow and prosper and the pocket plaza upgrading fits with our stated goal,” said Main Street President Adrian Martinez. “Board member Sarah Peck is heading this effort and she is to be commended for her willingness to volunteer many valuable hours to enhance our borough.”

The Armor Alley Pocket Plaza is proposed to be redeveloped into a lively, well lit, beautifully landscaped public plaza at a key spot on Main Street. A canopy of white lights will define the plaza and new landscaping, fencing, walkway lighting and pavers will create an attractive and safe pedestrian link to Main Street from Mill Road, the organization said in a press release.

Read more: http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20141125/work-ongoing-at-downingtown-pocket-park

Bethlehem Affordable Artist Housing Nearly Ready For Occupancy

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lofted ceilings. A rooftop deck. Bird’s-eye views of the former Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces.

An on-site art gallery. Personal studio space. Central air conditioning, walk-in closets and modern kitchen and bathroom facilities.

While it sounds like they could be, these are not features of a new high-end apartment complex in Bethlehem. In fact, these amenities are part of a new 46-unit affordable apartment complex set to open on Bethlehem’s South Side in October.

“We have people come on tours because they can’t believe this is affordable housing,” said Jolene Weaver, corporate marketing manager for Housing Development Corp. MidAtlantic, the apartments’ developer.

Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2014/08/bethlehem_affordable_artist_ho.html

Allentown Planners Warm To Cottage Houses Proposed At Former Montex Plant

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lehigh County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A developer proposing a community of cottage-style houses at the former Montex Textiles plant in Allentown hopes to start working on the homes by the summer.

The 52-home complex, first proposed last year, emphasizes shared community green spaces and pedestrian-friendly streets to encourage a “front-porch culture” among neighbors.

The Allentown Planning Commission reviewed the sketch plan for the Sixth and Cumberland streets project today, and although a final vote will be held in the future, the early feedback was generally favorable.

“I think it’s a refreshing approach,” commission Chairman Oldrich Foucek said of the project, which is called Trout Creek Cottages.

Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2014/03/allentown_planners_warm_to_cot.html

Pittsburgh’s Chatham Village A Model For Urban Planning

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As modern architects experiment with new forms of urban life, Pittsburgh’s Chatham Village has been tucked away for decades on Mount Washington, the work of 1930s architects who apparently were ahead of their time.

Resident David Vater, 59, works as an architect from his home, and he heralds the work of urban planners Clarence S. Stein and Henry Wright to anyone who will listen. Mr. Stein and Mr. Wright designed Chatham Village in the early 1930s under a commission from the Buhl Foundation, hoping to create a revolutionary new neighborhood organized around shared spaces.

“The idea was that rather than having to look at all that clutter and the cars and the streets, they would hide the streets,” Mr. Vater said.  “Instead of putting the street up the middle [of the houses], they’d put grass lawns up the middle, and gardens.  The grass lawns would be places for people to walk and enjoy and for children to play.”

A lifetime separates Mr. Stein and Mr. Wright from today’s urban planners, but their Chatham Village project is a quiet but important predecessor for modern architects.  For example, Seattle designer Ross Chapin’s contemporary “pocket neighborhoods” — small-scale neighborhoods oriented around shared spaces — are almost identical to Mr. Stein and Mr. Wright’s concept.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/home/Chatham_Village_a_model_for_urban_planning.html#YBj9oXDrOTOuzSL2.99