Nov 21, 2017 By Rachel Basinger for The 3 min read

Connellsville Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Michael Edwards told board members this week that they should be proud of the growth in their city.

“There’s an awful lot going on in Connellsville right now and you should all be proud,” he said.

With the transformation of the former Shop ‘N Save into a new grocery store soon to the near opening of Kickstand Kitchen on the west side where the former Lizza’s Florist used to be, Edwards said there are investments being made from one end of town to the other.

“I believe the amount of money being invested in our community far outweighs what’s happening in other communities,” he added.

Connellsville Mayor Greg Lincoln is hoping to add to that growth soon with property owned by the authority near the Cobblestone Inn by the river.

He informed members of the board that they are working to get back about 60 parking spots in that area so the authority can develop the property.

“When the hotel was being built, they needed assurance of availability of 54 parking spaces to satisfy the loan since they were planning for 54 rooms,” Lincoln said. “The city agreed to lease the spots from our lot to them, but unfortunately, it turned out that we gave them the whole lot as part of the agreement instead of just the 54 spots they needed.”

In August, city council officials passed a motion to open the agreement and Lincoln is hopeful the hotel developer will soon sign off on the agreement to relinquish over 60 parking spots from the original lease agreement.

“Once that happens, the sky’s the limit down there,” Lincoln said.

In other development news, Edwards said they will be accepting proposals until Dec. 8, from individuals who are looking for smaller grants to assist with demolition of any commercial structure in order to rebuild and open a business within city limits.

Edwards said they have some leftover foundation money that needs to be committed by the end of the year or they lose the funds.

“We’ve asked for an extension once and we really don’t want to ask for another one,” he said. The awarding of any money is on a first-come-first-served basis.

In other business, Edwards said he would like to have a layout of a grant calendar for next year so they can see what funding is available and what projects the city might be able to tackle.

Currently, the city has been approved for a $150,000 grant from the Allegheny Foundation to cover the cost of stone work at East Park and for general operating expenses at the authority.

They have also applied for a marketing grant from the Laurel Highlands Visitor’s Bureau in the amount of $2,025 to cover the cost of advertising in the town pages of the annual trail guide.

As for the application of a $60,000 from the Benedum Foundation for the Angel Fund Investment, Edwards said they were not approved.

“We’re going to keep trying though,” said Edwards. “There may be other people to approach on that.”