Greensburg survey will provide input as real estate consultants weigh in on downtown sites

People who live, work, pursue an education or operate a business or organization in Greensburg are being invited to offer input concerning the city’s downtown.

Their responses to an online survey will provide feedback to a six-member team of consultants who will be visiting the community through Friday, to provide local officials recommendations for revitalizing Greensburg’s downtown.

Greensburg is one of four locations nationally that was selected to receive guidance from The Counselors of Real Estate Consulting Corps, a nonprofit organization of commercial property professionals.

The CRE team will begin its weeklong visit Monday by touring several abandoned and vacant downtown parcels. The tour is expected to include a lot on Greensburg’s South Main Street where the dilapidated Advance Furniture building recently was demolished as part of a Westmoreland County blight remediation program.

The CRE consultants will meet with elected officials and community leaders to learn more about the area and will discuss with stakeholders initial steps for revitalizing or redeveloping the city’s core.

The consultants will issue a written report recommending short-term and long-term actions that can be incorporated into a downtown master plan that Greensburg officials intend to formulate in the months ahead.

The online survey is available at surveymonkey.com/r/creccgreensburg and is expected to take 5 minutes to complete.

Wednesday is the target date for participants to complete the survey.

The CRE team is being led by Jackie Buhn, a principal and co-founder of AR Spruce LLC, a Philadelphia-based real estate services and development company. She said the team has expertise in valuation, development and planning, as well as downtown revitalization.

“We’re particularly interested in talking to people about why they live here, what’s great about Greensburg, and how they envision carrying those great things into the future,” Buhn said. “We look forward to offering our problem-solving skills to help Greensburg in its efforts to spur increased activity and investment to create a vibrant downtown.”

Greensburg Community Development Corp. (GCDC), the City of Greensburg and Westmoreland County’s Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank partnered with the Realtors Association of Westmoreland, Indiana and Mon Valley to receive $40,000 worth of funding for the project through the National Association of Realtors’ Transforming Neighborhoods effort.

The same partners are pooling resources to support development of the downtown master plan, with a funding goal of $25,000 for the project.

“As a city of Greensburg resident, I am excited about the future of our city and look forward to the progress that will result from this initiative,” said Realtors association President Tracy Miscik.

Greensburg Community Development Corp. President Elsie Lampl expects the results of the CRE team’s visit to help jump-start creation of the downtown master plan. She said Greensburg is “in a pivotal moment as it has recently adopted a new comprehensive plan known as Shape Greensburg and is now embarking on a joint effort with the GCDC to revitalize the Main Street corridor.”

The Progress Fund, a local nonprofit that offers financing and business coaching to assist with regional business growth and job creation, is providing financial support for the downtown master plan process.

The Progress Fund moved its headquarters to Greensburg in 2008 “because we saw the city’s potential,” said Dave Kahley, president of the nonprofit and chairman of the city’s planning commission. “And we see more opportunities on the horizon.”

“Creating a master plan gives us the opportunity for long-term viability for our downtown,” said Greensburg Councilman Gregory Mertz. “I want this to be a success for our downtown business owners who invested their life’s work in Greensburg.”