PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. – Monday February 22, 2010– Franklin Commons, one of the newest venues for weddings, held it’s first Bridal Show Sunday February 21, 2010.  The event brought out many Brides-to-be, along with family members to come and experience the latest in wedding trends of 2010.

Lisa Longo of EarthMart in Phoenixville co-sponsored our fashion show featuring amazing “green” (eco-friendly!) wedding dresses by Adele Weschsler. Lisa gave one lucky bride to be $1000 off the gown of her choice. Terri Caramenico, co-owner of Belle of the Ball Bridal in Trooper, Pa also provided beautiful bridesmaids dresses and gave one lucky Bride-to-be her wedding gown for free.  After asking for a volunteer from the audience to model a gown for us, Stacey Halstead of Create the Moment, planner and MC of the event, asked the girl if she liked the gown and told her it was hers! All the models had their hair and makeup done by the crew at Salon Fiber, and they were gorgeous!!
After enjoying a hot pasta bar courtesy of Cornucopia Catering, guests indulged in a delicious Godiva chocolate bar, courtesy of The Food Muse (they had an amazing display with all the goodies for dipping!).  Sweet Talk bakery provided cake, chocolate covered strawberries and cupcakes for tasting, and Cream Valley Farm Catering and Cakes provided taster cakes as well as a beautiful wedding cake display. Beautiful centerpieces and bouquets were courtesy of Pennypacker Florist and Perfect Petals. Other participating vendors were Dan Williams Photography, Costello Photography, The Party Center, Choice Party Linens, Tents Party, Serenity Fitness, Personal Best, Homewood Suites, Candace Lark-Masucci (Harpist,) Sound Sensations DJ’s, Jet Set Pilot, Manno Custom Creations, The Brewtique, Mary Kay, Hipster Home, and Philadelphia Wedding Magazine.
We would like to send a great big thank you to all who attended and participated in our show. Special thanks go to BG Productions, who were able to capture the moments of the day and provide us with photos for Facebook and our website! Together with Stacey Halstead from Create the Moment Wedding and Event Planners, we were able to create a most amazing event at our unique and un-common place, Franklin Commons. The transformation took place over 2 days and the results were phenomenal!
We hope that everyone that was there had as much fun and we did- and Brides- if you are still looking for a venue that is different than most, check out our website, www.franklincommons.net.

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

Better Communities through Education serves adult and generation 1.5 teens.  We offer English as a Second Language, Foreign Language, Test Preparation, Citizenship Test Preparation, Teacher Education & Development, Cultural Development and Awareness courses.

Our English as a Second Language program includes basic survival skills, pre-academic tract, academic tract, career preparation and target special purposes classes.  Students may choose to study in only one tract or may develop their own program with the assistance of an advisor.  Our English as a Second Language (ESL) offerings are designed to assist students to first use English for every day tasks.  Our six level integrated skills approach allows students to practice skills in the classroom just as they would use them at work, at school, at the doctors office, grocery store or at home.  Once students have mastery of everyday English they can continue with more focused study.

We have foreign language classes for family members of speakers of other languages, business people, students and those who just love to learn new languages and about new cultures.  Our foreign language program also has a family literacy option which allows families to learn together in private group.

All of our programs include cultural awareness and exploration because we believe that cultural awareness is essential to building strong communities. Suite 207

Link to site: www.BCEeducation.org

Franklin Commons won 1^st place for Best Mixed Use Project.  What an honor it was for Dave and Marian Moskowitz just to be nominated as one of three spectacular facilities, but to actually receive 1^st place!

If you have not had the opportunity to see this amazing facility on the North side of Phoenixville, I encourage you to do so.

PHOENIXVILLE, Oct. 2, 2009—PAPA’s programs have expanded to include a team of LEGO® enthusiasts.  The team is comprised of six students, ages 9 through 14 from several different schools.  Mentored by Brian Harr, PAPA’s Director of Programs, the team will design, build, and program a robot to complete several tasks.
“I’m in awe of the creativity of the team.  In the first day, they designed and built a prototype robot from scratch – and they had fun doing it” Harr observed.  The program is designed to challenge students to build their abilities in science, technology, and engineering.  The team will compete against other LEGO® enthusiasts from across the region.  Winners can go on to national and international competitions.

Each year, PAPA enriches the lives of hundreds of Phoenixville-area youth through programs with proven positive impacts on self-esteem and life-skills development.

PAPA is the only formal, structured program for at-risk youth aged 7-17 in the Phoenixville area. Primarily a volunteer, grass-roots organization, PAPA works closely with the Phoenixville Area School District, the Borough of Phoenixville, and other local organizations to create a positive, effective, and motivating force in the Phoenixville community.