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First Lady Visits
Philadelphia, Highlighting Food Access |
Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (PAFFFI)
on a visit to the city in February. The First Lady’s visit shed light
on a key aspect of her
Let’s Move campaign: access to healthy, affordable food. Accompanied by
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and USDA Secretary Tom
Vilsack, the First Lady’s visit focused on the widespread
problem of ‘food deserts’ and the steps Philadelphia has
taken to get healthy, affordable food to its
communities. The TRF-financed Fresh Grocer at Progress
Plaza was their first stop. TRF provided financing to
the supermarket through the
PA FFFI
and its
New Markets Tax Credits program. The First Lady and the Secretaries then shared the Let's Move
initiative with local community leaders at the Fairhill Elementary School. TRF, in
partnership with PolicyLink and The Food Trust,
continues to work with the Obama Administration and
Congress, on a
national
version of the successful PA FFFI.
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TRF to Manage Three Energy Funds in Pennsylvania |
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With support from the 2009 Recovery Act, TRF will soon
manage three
energy
loan funds in Pennsylvania, each
targeted to specific geographies. Serving the
city of Philadelphia,
the Philadelphia Metro area and the entire
state,
TRF will
leverage the awards with additional private and public
capital to create nearly $100 million in new financing to
support energy conservation and renewable energy projects.
The awards recognize TRF's successful track record of
investing in green technologies and sustainable energy
projects and include a $12 million award from Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection, funded through the
State Energy Plan grant received by the Commonwealth from
the U.S. Department of Energy. TRF will leverage the award 3
to1, to create a $48 million
Green Energy Loan Fund
that will support green projects across the state. At a time
when there is a critical need for predictable access to
capital for clean energy and energy efficiency projects, TRF
is structuring these funds to provide immediate access to,
and draw private capital back into energy project financing.
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NEA Chair
Tours Philadelphia's Arts Investments |
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TRF was delighted to tour
National Endowment of the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman and
his team around Philadelphia last month, visiting several
local arts investments, including the TRF-financed
Crane Arts Building.
The visit was part of the
nationwide “Arts
Works” tour, exploring
and promoting the arts as an economic catalyst. While in
Philadelphia, Mr. Landesman discussed the role of the arts
in economic revitalization with Mayor Nutter, Jeremy Nowak
and local arts and economic development leaders at Crane
Arts. NEA’s interest was drawn to Philadelphia in large part
because of the early work on
creativity and neighborhood
development that TRF
and the University of Pennsylvania's Social Impact of the
Arts Project has done together. |
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TRF's City Arts
Showcased by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan |
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City Arts
at a press event on the impact of the 2009 Recovery Act
on jobs and revitalizing the economy.
Joined by state and local public officials,
Secretary Donovan toured the site of the Baltimore
project, which received part of its funding through
the 2009 Recovery Act. The affordable housing
development was designed with artists in mind and
will include a gallery and performance space.
Located in Baltimore's Greenmount West neighborhood,
the project is expected to create or retain 168
jobs.
NEA Chair Rocco Landesman
also attended the event, using the opportunity to
meet with the
developers, local artists and community
leaders. City Arts is a partnership of Homes for
America, Jubilee Baltimore, and
TRF Development
Partners Baltimore.
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HUD press event at
the City Arts site. The energy-efficient development will
create 69 rental apartments and 8 for-sale townhomes.
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Explore
Health Data on PolicyMap |
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With 2006 data from the US Census
Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, PolicyMap shows
counties across the nation where working age people lack health
insurance. The darker areas
indicate places with the highest concentrations of
uninsured people.
Click to view interactive map. |
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As the new
health reform law moves toward implementation, learn more
about how we fare on health care as a nation, using
PolicyMap.
In addition to a variety of health data, PolicyMap also
offers two interactive health data widgets, which users can embed
on their own websites. You can show
where people across the country lack
health insurance
or
places with the highest
concentrations of people working in the health care industry.
Pull
the iframe
code
from PolicyMap into your news stories, blog postings, or
other online sites. Also, the University of Pennsylvania now
offers students and staff access to PolicyMap subscriptions
through its library system. Learn more about a site license
for a
school or
university library.
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TRF-Financed
Bookstore in Lewisburg to Open Early Summer |
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TRF's
NMTC program
is bringing a new 29,000 square foot bookstore to Lewisburg in
Central Pennsylvania. The small town is anchored by Bucknell
University, a highly regarded academic institution, which
recently embarked on a more than $100 million initiative to
strengthen the greater Lewisburg community. Relocating the
Bucknell bookstore was the first project in this initiative.
With support from TRF, Bucknell is transforming a historic
building in the heart of downtown Lewisburg to create a
three-story official university bookstore operated by Barnes &
Noble College Booksellers, Inc. The store is expected to serve
as an impetus to draw students and other shoppers downtown,
serving as an economic boost to the area. To-date, TRF has
provided more than $179 million in NMTC financing to support
commercial real estate, supermarkets and charter schools in
low-income communities across the mid-Atlantic. |
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The
interior of Bucknell University's new bookstore
beginning to take shape. |
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