The group has been in existence for 2 and a half years.  Their mission is to create a relaxed atmosphere for business owners to get to know each other professionally and personally. This is accomplished by pre breakfast conversation, sharing a meal, listening to fellow businesses speak about their company or organization and participating in testimonials.

“By doing this we not only help others grow, but we grow professionally and personally through this weekly contact”.

The Group is now meeting every Wednesday morning from 7:45-9AM at Franklin Commons, 400 Franklin Avenue in Phoenixville. They meet in the conference room, Suite 209. Park in the Grant Street Lot and come in the front door. Cost to join is $50 the first year and $20 each year after and $10 per week for breakfast. Each week a member gets to speak for 20 minutes and at the end we all pass business cards and have an opportunity to give  a 30 second commercial.  Meetings end on time,  if you choose to hang out and talk further to anyone, please  go into the Bistro.

Networking is the least expensive way to promote your business! We all know that people  do business with those they know, like and trust and the only way to build those relationships is to network, network network!!! Hope to see you at the next meeting!!!

Area Residents  now have the services of SE PA’s self titled “Life Change Expert.” at their disposal to help them help themselves. Eleanor Fineran who is a Certified Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master, uses these Mind-Body healing techniques to tackle a variety of problems such as Stress Management, Smoking Cessation, Weight Management, and get relief from chronic problems such as fears and pain.

For more information call 610-680-8476 or visit www.soulcenteredhealth.com

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Soul Centered Health will be opening at the Franklin Commons this month in Phoenixville.  Soul Centered Health champions Mental Health as one of the keys to overall health and wellness.  The business supports clients with mental, physical, and emotional concerns using Mind Body techniques including Hypnotherapy and Reiki.

Phoenixville, PA,  Soul Centered Health is launching a new Office in Phoenixville. Area Residents will now have the services of SE PA’s self titled “Life Change Expert.” at their disposal to help them help themselves. Eleanor Fineran who is a Certified Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master, uses these Mind-Body healing techniques to tackle a variety of problems such as Stress Management, Smoking Cessation, Weight Management, and get relief from chronic problems such as fears and pain.

Soul Centered Health has an office located at Franklin Commons, 400 Franklin Avenue Suite 222, Phoenixville, PA 19460.

For more information call 610-680-8476 or visit www.soulcenteredhealth.com

The Chester County Keystone Innovation Zone has expanded geographically and now has four additional educational institutions involved in the program.

West Chester University, Cheyney University, the Franklin Commons education and enterprise facility in Phoenixville, and Tredyffrin’s Evolve IP Corporate Center are now participants in the KIZ, a program that supports young life science, biotechnology and information technology companies in the county.

The new boundaries will include both West Chester University’s main campus and its Graduate Business Center at 1160 McDermott Drive near Route 202.

“Given all the layoffs, having a KIZ with people starting new companies is absolutely critical at this time,” said Mary Fuchs, project consultant for the Chester County Keystone Innovation Zone.

According to the organization’s annual report, CCKIZ companies in 2009:

received their full requested awards in KIZ tax credits for a total amount of $693,251 for seven companies in the zone

reported increased revenue of more than $19 million from the previous year

created 53 jobs

retained 255 jobs

leveraged more than $6.6 million in funding

Prior to its latest expansion, the county had seven KIZ areas, all located in office parks in the Route 202, Route 100/Turnpike, Exton, Goshen, Downingtown, Great Valley and Chesterbrook areas.

State Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-19th, of West Whiteland, said expanding the zone is good economic policy.

“Chester County’s KIZ is one of the most successful in Pennsylvania,” Dinniman said. “We have had an incredible numer of companies grow and move from research and development to commercial enterprises. By expanding the zone, you are expanding the opportunities. It’s a step in the right direction.”

Fuchs said there are 21 companies that have received services or support from the Keystone Innovation Zone in Chester County.

To qualify for assistance, companies must be in high-tech industries, be physically located within the zone and be eight years old or less.

Those currently listed as Chester County KIZ companies are: Alliance Pharma, Bythezip.com, Carbon Nanoprobes, Epcot Crenshaw Corp., Evolve IP, Frontage Laboratories, GreenPointe Energy, Level One, Melior Discovery, Momentum Dynamics, Nanopack, Neuronetics, Nuron Biotech, Pharmatrope, Progenra, Promedior, Reaction Biology, Shifa Biomedical, Syan

dus, Tetralogic Pharmaceuticals and Y-Prime.

Companies within the zone get a variety of services, from help in finding interns, to training programs for existing employees and connections to venture capital firms. The companies are also eligible to sell tax credits of up to $100,000 a year, giving them access to much-needed working capital, Fuchs said.

Now in its third year, the program is administered through the Chester County Economic Development Council and is funded through a declining state grant. It received $225,000 in 2008, $187,500 in 2009 and $125,000 this year to do so.

Attracting and keeping life science companies is important to the county’s future, Dinniman said.

According to a May 2009, Milken Institute report, after accounting for the ripple effects, the life sciences sector in Greater Philadelphia was responsible for generating 380,800 jobs, $20.2 billion in earnings, and $39.7 billion in output in 2007.

“One of the reasons why Forbes Magazine ranked Montgomery and Chester counties as the ninth- and 10th-best places to live in the country is the many excellent jobs provided by local cutting-edge companies both large and small,” Dinniman said. “But we cannot rest on our laurels. The challenge in this new economy is not only to keep great jobs here but also to create new ones by attracting and supporting entrepreneurs looking to launch new companies — companies that could eventually become the next Siemens Medical Systems or Cephalon.”

Becoming part of the zone is a good fit for Franklin Commons, which now can offer educational opportunities for residents from pre-kindergarten into adulthood, said Dave Moskowitz, a partner in the effort to bring various schools under one roof in Phoenixville.

Within the 225,000-square-foot former industrial building in north Phoenixville is a daycare, a preschool, a Renaissance Academy with 1,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grades, a Lansdale School of Business campus and a Neumann University location, as well as an after-school rock and roll school, a performing arts school, a language center and a number of private businesses.

“It’s the only building in the United States in which you can start at 3 months and finish at a university,” Moscowitz said. “We thought, why not allow small businesses to innovate here and see what would come of that. We have a lot of small businesses already here and lots of professors and teachers here who could take advantage of it.”

FREE to public non-partisan class held Thursday May 27, 2010 from 7-9pm in Franklin Bistro

Dinniman said the successful expansion of Chester County’s KIZ will keep the local economy vibrant and ahead of the competition by providing tax credits and commercialization opportunities to start-up companies in the information technology and life-science industries that are already responsible for thousands of highly paid and highly skilled jobs in Chester and Montgomery counties.

“One of the reasons why Forbes Magazine ranked Montgomery and Chester counties as the 9th and 10th best places to live in the country is the many excellent jobs provided by local cutting-edge companies both large and small,” Dinniman said. “But we cannot rest on our laurels. The challenge in this new economy is not only to keep great jobs here but also to create new ones by attracting and supporting entrepreneurs looking to launch new companies – companies that could eventually become the next Siemens Medical Systems or Cephalon.”

“Keystone Innovation Zones specifically do this by linking start-up companies with local universities, banks and other lenders, and economic development organizations, all in order to foster innovation and to bring ideas from the drawing board and research lab to the marketplace,” according to Dinniman, who is a member of the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority which oversees and reviews all 29 Keystone Innovation Zones throughout Pennsylvania.

“The expanded KIZ is great news for Chester County, and I am especially delighted that the expansion includes Franklin Commons and that the Phoenixville area will share in the benefits that come with exciting and new business opportunities.”

The Chester County Economic Development Council is the fiscal agent for Chester County’s Keystone Innovation Zone; its new boundaries will include both West Chester University’s main campus and its Graduate Business Center at 1160 McDermott Drive near Route 202.

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Not only did we come from this year’s Candlelight Holiday Tour with visions of sugar plums, we even had visions of flamingos! or those of you who braved the snow, the evening was a magical experience. We are ever so grateful to the homeowners who willingly opened their doors and their hearts to our appreciative patrons. This year’s tour proved to be historic, as we crossed the Gay Street Bridge to Phoenixville’s North Side and were able to view the treasures up there as well as the incredible Franklin
Commons complex. The timing was perfect, as Franklin Commons received first place this year from Philadelphia Business Journal for Best Mixed Use and we couldn’t be happier or prouder! How convenient that our own Mayor Scoda was hosting in a lovely
home just down the street so he could be there for the presentation during the tour.
Rich in Civil War history, Phoenixville’s North Side is full of hidden gems just waiting to be shown. Those who braved the  elements this year were treated to homes with great beauty and diverse settings all over town. Our loyal group of hosts and hostesses were there in force greeting patrons and guiding them through the homes and even helped with shoveling and setting up of luminaries. The Jaycees hosted over at Franklin Commons, and all of the businesses in Franklin Commons were there to let visitors see firsthand their great new location. St. Peters Episcopal Church had been on our original tour in 2001, and it was wonderful to have them back on the tour again. And then there was Phoenix Hose, Hook & Ladder No. 1 in all its glory. The members were there giving tours of this historic facility while ballroom dancing was demonstrated on the stage by Phoenix Ballroom. Oh, to do the Tango like that! The fire hall looked warm, inviting, and festive. It was heartwarming to see the patrons
sitting at the beautifully decorated tables planning out their tour from the map inside the program. On a personal note, my admiration and respect for those courageous firemen who protect us has grown by leaps and bounds as we worked with them on this project. And also our dedicated police force who made sure we were protected that evening. And speaking of the printed program, it was by far our best ever, and we are grateful to the area businesses who supported us so much. Our advertising revenue surpassed last year, and this tour proves to be recession-proof again.
We are excited about next year’s tour already. It will be our tenth and we’ll be pulling out all the stops. Thank you, dear Phoenixville, for supporting us so well. We do this because we love you and you have shown that you love us back. Our loyal committee, only nine members strong, works very hard to give you this evening out and I want to thank each of them by name: Joan Beregi, my Co-Chair, Connie Bretz, Margaret Howard, Sheila Klement, Maureen Maksimoski, Suzanne McGinley, Betty Miles, Sandra Zimmermann. They do all of the work, trust me! They are incredible and I am honored and proud to call them
my friends. Thanks, guys. And thank you again, Phoenixville. See you on next year’s tour!
Love, Jan Swarr

About four years ago, David and Marian Moskowitz decided to purchase a 100-year old vacant and decaying
industrial building located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and convert it into an educational, corporate and recreational
facility called Franklin Commons. The Moskowitzs, owners of Palma, L.P., the real estate management
company of Franklin Commons, learned during several months of research that their renovation project was
kind of “uncommon” – that is, no private developer in the United States
had ever transformed a brownfield site into an “educational mall.”
Franklin Commons, located 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, is
home to:
• A day care, which accepts children as young as three months
old;
• A pre-school;
• A K-12 charter school established nine years ago with approximately
1,000 students;
• A two-year college;
• And a four-year college and a graduate school offering both
master’s and doctorate degrees.
• According to David Moskowitz, “This is the only building we
know of in the United States where you can start at three
months old and stay in the same building throughout your
entire educational career, and end up with a doctor’s degree.”
FHLBank member Malvern Federal Savings Bank used a $3,000,000
Community Lending Program (CLP) loan from FHLBank Pittsburgh to
support the project. CLP is an $825 million revolving loan pool from
which FHLBank members can obtain long-term, lower-cost financing for development initiatives designed to
enhance the local economy.
“The $3 million CLP funding, and the balance of the funding provided by Malvern Federal Savings Bank, was
necessary for this project to happen…This entire project has been built with private financing, and, without this
financing, there would not have been a project,” said Moskowitz. He added, “The total redevelopment cost
will be in excess of $20,000,000. This includes improvements made by tenants to their space and the improvements
to be made by Renaissance Academy, which purchased 104,000 square feet of the building to build the
K-12 charter school.”
After one year of environmental remediation and renovation, tenants began moving in, restoring new life to
the former brownfield site that once housed a silk mill, carpet mill and, most recently, a plastics company that
made pump parts for wastewater treatment plants. It is a bright spot for the Phoenixville area – the old building
is restored to an eye-pleasing, useful facility that provides a gamut of educational offerings, business opportunities
and jobs for local residents.
Half of the tenants, who utilize 80 percent of the finished space, are educational or quasi-educational – Neumann
College, Lansdale School of Business, Phoenixville Area Children’s Learning Center, Phoenixville Area
Positive Alternatives, Facetime Performing Arts Center, Renaissance Academy, Stepping Stone Education Center
and Rock & Roll After School. The remaining tenants consist of small businesses – from caterers to a graphics
design firm, from a nutrition consultant to the leading educational security consultant in the United States.
In addition, the facility offers bistro dining and has a spacious banquet hall and conference room available for
rental. It is also the site of community events such as fundraisers, a holiday candlelight tour and a Friday night
concert series. Approximately ten percent of the building still requires renovation.
The icing on the cake for the Moskowitz’s Franklin Commons project was a first-place award for “Best Mixed
Use,” bestowed recently by the Philadelphia Business Journal, recognizing the top 2009 building sales, leases
and real estate developments in the Delaware Valley.
FHLBank Pittsburgh is proud to sponsor CLP projects such as Franklin Commons throughout Delaware,
Pennsylvania and West Virginia