The official blog of Downtown Pittsburgh. Read up on what's new, what's happening, and what stories are being told in the neighborhood.
The official blog of Downtown Pittsburgh. Read up on what's new, what's happening, and what stories are being told in the neighborhood.
DOWNTOWN PITTSBURGH, PA – At the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Annual Meeting today, at the JLL Center at Tower Two-Sixty, new initiatives were presented, 2016 accomplishments were celebrated, plans for 2017 were shared, and participants were inspired by a keynote panel discussion featuring local experts in the music industry.
2016 Accomplishments and New PDP Initiatives
At today’s meeting, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership President and CEO, Jeremy Waldrup, provided an overview of the successes the organization experienced in 2016. Highlights included:
According to Waldrup “2016 was an incredibly active year for Downtown, we saw an unprecedented increase in the amount of activities and events occurring in Downtown Pittsburgh. It’s difficult not to be excited by the positive things that are occurring in our neighborhood. Our plans for 2017 will capitalize on this vibrancy and bring even more partners into programming and supporting Downtown.”
2017 Initiatives
At the meeting, Waldrup also provided insight into initiatives and plans that will be employed throughout 2017. Notable new initiatives include:
BetaBurgh
Three new recipients of BetaBurgh grants were announced at the meeting. BetaBurgh is an initiative that invests in innovative ideas from the startup, entrepreneur, non-profit, and small business communities in Pittsburgh. The program is designed to create an opportunity to test and launch products and services within Downtown’s marketplace. BetaBurgh is funded by the BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
The three new projects chosen to be implemented in the second round of funding are:
Keynote Panel Address on Creating a Live Music Initiative in Downtown Pittsburgh
A panel discussed the City-wide opportunities and challenges to increasing the amount and diversity of live music, and support for local musicians. While a local music scene has both cultural and economic benefits in any neighborhood, it’s of particular importance in Downtown where it is also a contributing factor for increasing tourism and conventions.
The panel was moderated by Abby Goldstein, General Manager of WYEP. Panelists included: Allison Harnden, Nighttime Economy Coordinator, City of Pittsburgh, Janis Burley Wilson, Vice President, Strategic Partnership and Community Engagement/Director of Jazz Programs, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Ed Traversari, Music Promoter and Associate Professor, Sports, Arts and Entertainment Management, Point Park University, Justin Strong, General Manager, Spirit Night Club, Margaret Welsh, Pittsburgh City Paper Music Critic, and Russell Howard, Vice President Special Events & Development, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.
Election of New PDP Board Members
As part of the order of business for the day, the organization elected four new Board Members to serve three-year terms. New members are Jack Barbour, Executive Chairman Buchanan, Ingersoll and Rooney PC, Marisa Williams, Regional Executive Director at YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, Ashlee Yingling, Manager, External Communications, Duquesne Light Company, and Anthony Young, President of BOMA, Pittsburgh.
Golden Triangle Awards & Presentations
The Golden Triangle Awards, established in 2012, acknowledge exceptional efforts of individuals and organizations that benefit Downtown Pittsburgh and the mission of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. Two Golden Triangle Awards were presented today.
The Chairman’s Award is presented to a Board member whose dedication to the PDP goes above and beyond the duties of serving the organization. This award was presented to Mariann Geyer. In her role as the Vice President of External Affairs at Point Park University, Mariann has worked in tandem with President Hannigan to bring to fruition the Academic Village Initiative at Point Park, which has transformed the corridor around Wood Street and Boulevard of the Allies. Mariann is an extraordinarily active member of the Board of Directors. Not only does she provide excellent advice, she is frequently seeking ways to engage the work of the PDP with other meaningful organizations and businesses. Over the past year, she assisted the PDP in developing a unique, new volunteer partnership with Renewal, Inc. Through this partnership, men and women transitioning from the criminal justice system, have volunteered time to perform clean ups of alleys throughout the Central Business District. For the inaugural year, 73 business benefited from the clean-up program.
The Downtown Champion Award is presented to an individual, company, or organization that truly embraces the vision of the PDP. The 2017 recipient is McKnight Realty. McKnight Realty has supported the work of the PDP and Downtown in a variety of ways. First, they have provided not only the PDP, but many other entities with retail spaces, to activate Downtown in unique ways. In particular, the former Office Depot space, located on Smithfield Street was home to Night Markets, a 5-week long juried art-show, an educational activity space during the RE:New Festival, and a full weekend as a bustling “I Made it Market” during the holiday season. Additionally, McKnight realty worked with unique retailers, ModCloth and Steel City Media, to produce two highly successful pop ups. Steel City found their pop up to be such a success that they signed a lease and now have not only a street-level retail business on Smithfield Street, but also have moved their online fulfillment center to the location.
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