The Great Allegheny passage crosses over the Casselman River on a 226 foot long old RR bridge covered by a new wooden deck. That’s at Milepost 61 in the Trail Town of Confluence. From the middle of the bridge crossing, you can see the old 2-story yellow school on the far right bank. Immersion Research, an outdoor gear manufacturer occupies … Continue reading
Are you looking to start or grow your business? We are a creative lender that can finance the opportunities you see. To work with you, our Program Manager, Kristi Wendel, has opened an office in downtown Ridgway. Kristi is a PA Wilds resident and committee to help grow the small businesses in the PA Wilds. You can read more about … Continue reading
Since 2018, we have been working to reopen the Historic Hazelwood Brewery as a beer drinkers destination. Yeah, its taken longer than expected. Real estate projects creep more than they run. COVID didn’t help and this is no small project. It involved a lot of property acquisition, community outreach, planning and more planning, lots of permits, and the complete rehabilitation … Continue reading
We’ve been lending in the PA Wilds of north–central Pennsylvania since before it was trademarked “The PA Wilds“. To increase our outreach and impacts in the PA Wilds, our new Program Manager, Kristi Wendel, has opened a new office in downtown Ridgway, PA. Kristi is a PA Wilds resident and committed to helping grow the tourism industry and other sustainable … Continue reading
We often get asked “What was the single most important thing you did that made your Trail Town Program® successful?” The answer is always the same, that we have money and the willingness to make loans to new and expanding trail-related businesses. And, we are as flexible as possible when we make those critical loans. We adjust to less than … Continue reading
We are honored to announce that our President & CEO, David A. Kahley, was named the “2021 Preservationist of the Year” by the Young Preservationist Association of Pittsburgh. The announcement was part of the annual award program of the Young Preservationist Association (YPA) that was virtually released on December 21, 2021. The announcement of the Preservationist of the Year begins … Continue reading
The Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy (formally the Allegheny Trail Alliance) and Fourth Economy (an economic development consulting firm) deserve a standing ovation for their just released Economic Impact Report on the Great Allegheny Passage. If you are interested in outdoor recreation, environmentally sustainable development and Trail Towns, I suggest you dig into their Impact Report. I have seen thousands of … Continue reading
The Progress Fund is pleased to share the most recent study on economic impact along the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP). According to Bryan Perry of Fourth Economy, “Tourism along the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage drove over $121 million in economic impact in 2019, according to a year-long analysis by Pittsburgh-based consulting firm Fourth Economy released on November 30, 2021. Fourth Economy conducted 64 interviews … Continue reading
The Progress Fund is a fan of great beer, businesses. You probably already knew that if you know us. An everyone of those businesses we’ve helped involved a lot of new construction and renovation. We are excited to be part of six new or expanding breweries in the works right now. Click here to read about the five new breweries … Continue reading
“The Nest” was over 10 years in the making. “The Nest” is a cute, clean and comfortable one-bedroom apartment that just opened for rental at the Derailleur Bike Shop Café on the “Great” Butler-Freeport Community Trail, which runs for 20 miles across southeastern Butler County. And yes, western PA has many “Great” destination trails in addition to the world-famous Great Allegheny … Continue reading
