Vacant storefronts are filling up and more people are visiting Dormont's business district, residents and merchants there say.
Now officials are looking for a little government help to keep it going.
"It's coming. You can sense it. There's a lot more people on foot," said Jamie Grassman, 32, manager of Fredo's Deli on Potomac Ave.
Borough officials are seeking designation as a Pennsylvania Main Street community, which they said would be a key piece of the effort to revitalize the business district and beyond. They plan to apply to a separate state program that deals with residential development.
"There's a bunch of us here in Dormont who really want to see this thing go," said George Pitcher, chairman of the Main Street project's 13-member steering committee, which is preparing an application for the program.
The Main Street program, administered by the state Department of Community and Economic Development, is a comprehensive, community-based approach developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1980 to help promote revitalization and reinvestment in "core communities."
About 36 communities in Pennsylvania are designated Main Street communities; another 14 are designated Main Street achievers, said Bill Fontana, executive director of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, which provides technical assistance to local governments in the program.
Achiever communities, such as Mt. Lebanon, have demonstrated they are meeting the program's criteria without state aid.
The Main Street program in 2005 included 478 building rehabilitation projects and used $9.4 million in public funds to spur more than $90 million in private investment, the Pennsylvania Downtown Center said.
The Dormont steering committee is seeking public input about its Main Street project, which will target Potomac and West Liberty avenues. It plans to circulate questionnaires before the end of summer, Pitcher said.
The steering committee is seeking volunteers to serve on four committees that will oversee various aspects of the program.
Officials are looking ahead to applying to the state Elm Street program, which targets revitalization in residential areas, Pitcher said.
The January reopening of the Hollywood Theater has added an extra draw to the business district, attracting patrons to nearby Potomac Avenue and its restaurants, merchants said.
Florist Nancy Macek, 47, who is marking her fourth year at the corner of Potomac and West Liberty, said the changes are refreshing.
"It used to be people kept to themselves; now, they are going out a little more," she said.
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