By Mark Peterson, Beaver County Radio.

(Beaver Falls, PA) The Beaver Falls Community Development Corporation kicked off their annual lecture series last night and hosted a public meeting  at the Carnegie Free Library in town to give attendees an overview of the what the future holds for the city.   A capacity crowd filled up the double meeting room in the library for the first of three planned meetings, and those in attendance heard very encouraging words from City Manager, Charles “Mick” Jones, Jr. as he gave his talk which focused on municipal improvements and activities.  Jones beamed with excitement as he described the upcoming renovations to 7th Avenue, where bike lanes will be added, along with wider sidewalks, and reverse parking to potentially create a more pedestrian friendly business district,  much like the bustling outdoor cafe and shopping areas seen in other cities.   Work on the infrastructure along the  main street in Beaver Falls has already begun, with the major road work  to commence in earnest later in this summer, after the Beaver Falls Car Cruise on June 8.  The good news didn’t stop with street improvements.  Jones lauded a new “Innovation Station”  coming to Beaver Falls that will be located in the old Angeles Apartment Building in the 1300 block of 7th Avenue, and a Children’s  Museum that will be housed in the old News Tribune Building on 13th Street.

Renee Suhr, owner of Stray Cat Studio in Beaver Falls also spoke at the meeting and unveiled her plans for a brand new building to be constructed in the 1400 block.  The impressive undertaking, called the Portabella Building , will include space for an art studio, gift shop, cafe, black box theater and a large meeting room.  Suhr opened Stray Cat Studio, a gift shop and pottery art class enterprise about 7 years years ago and has watched the upstart business outgrow its  current digs at the lower end of town at 507 7th Avenue in Beaver Falls.  In that time, Suhr reported that over 800 people have taken classes at her shop, where she and her staff offer classes in several different styles of pottery making.  Suhr hopes to begin construction soon on the new two story building that will span 3 parcels on the city’s main drag.

The “State Of The City” meeting was organized by Wendy Whelply, Executive Director for the Beaver Falls Community Development Corporation.  Last night’s meeting, which centered around the topic of business and government, was the first in a series of three gatherings, each focusing on a different aspect of Beaver Falls.  The next meeting is April 10.  Education and Church will be the themes of that upcoming lecture which will include commentary from Dr. Calvin Troup, President of Geneva College and Rev. Bernard Tench, Pastor of Second baptist Church in Beaver Falls. Admission is free and the programs start at 7 P.M. at the Carnegie Free Library in Beaver Falls.  More information and upcoming schedules can be found here.