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Recently, urban-issues twitterer extraordinaire Carol Coletta posted a profession of her love that there is a "small house movement" (featured in the Small House Style blog). We love it too! 
Although the homes of Center City Allentown may not be as tiny as the plans you will find on the Tiny House Blog, they are a dramatic departure from the McMansions of the Lehigh Valley suburbs, and illustrate a couple of key benefits of downtown living. Some of the benefits of living in a smaller space include lower energy costs, less house to clean, character, coziness and something to show off to friends. In Allentown, small homes, such as those found on the periphery of our prime business corridors offer a great historic home-ownership opportunity to a wide variety of people interested in living in a compact, walkable neighborhood.Many of the homes within walking distance (a quarter mile) of the Hamilton Street business district and Seventh Street business district are both small and historic. Nearly all of homes in the Old Allentown Historic District were built before the post-World War II building boom, when there was a dramatic decrease in the quality of materials and methods. Over 25% of the houses in Old Allentown are smaller than 1,300 square feet, a manageable home for singles, young professionals or small families. Contrast that with the super-sized homes of the sprawling suburbs, where you could get lost in your own house.Because of their small size, many of the small homes on the market in our Center City can be purchased for less than $100,000. Many financial advisors suggest that one spend no more than 28% of their gross income on mortgage payments. This ratio is easily attained by a young professional living in a small home in center city. At these rates, a young professional or entrepreneur could afford to fully participate in the numerous benefits of
downtown living.One of the amazing features of the small homes in Center City Allentown is their proximity to arts, culture, restaurants, and business opportunities. The Allentown Art Museum, Allentown Symphony Hall, the Baum School of Art, West Park, Allentown Brew Works, dozens of authentic ethnic restaurants, and so much more are all no more than a few blocks from Old Allentown and the Old Fairgrounds Historic District. There are also banks, grocery stores, drug stores, galleries, coffee shops, and government services. So consider the benefits of living in a small house in downtown Allentown, and come check us out.
Here's a sampling of what you'll find on the Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) page on Facebook and Twitter feed for February 18, 2010:
Google Fiber for Communities AEDC just met with City of Allentown staff to discuss our community's response to the Google Fiber for Communities Project. We are coordinating our response, but will definitely need good business community feedback. Among the questions that 
we have is how fiber will change business for you in the Lehigh Valley? We are thinking about users like PPL and the hospitals, and how they will be able to differently deliver services. We are also wondering how developers can provide apps that will capitalize on expanded broadband. Please let us know through by commenting here or at Bring Google Fiber to the Lehigh Valley, a Facebook fan page dedicated to executing this project. We will be reaching out to community partners over the next month and will share our findings here
El Rey del Mofongo Are you familiar with mofongo? If not, it is time to get to know this Dominican dish. What better place than El rey del mofongo, at 937 Hamilton! They have an excellent spanish-american buffet, featuring all your favorites plus MOFONGO! Don't know what it is? It's delicious, and you can try it there.
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Treasury Secretary Geithner announces New Markets Tax Credits for 2011
Be sure to check out the IronPigs newly redesigned website!!
February Business Outlook from the Philadelphia Fed: increase in current new orders index suggesting an improvement in demand for manufactured goods.
Here's a sampling of what you'll find on the Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) page on Facebook and Twitter feed for February 17, 2010:
Pawlowski Nominates DCED Director Happy to pass on the news that Mayor Ed Pawlowski has nominated Sara Hailstone as the Director of Community and Economic Development for the City of Allentown. Sara comes from years in a similar role in Scranton and at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. We expect to have a great working relationship with her and look forward to the positive impact she will have on the department. Let's hope that council approves her nomination!
Sweet Italian Pizza Authentic dining on Seventh Street is on our 
mind today! One of our favorite lunches is a slice from Sweet Italian, a pizza place with a Mexican twist. The pizza is fabulous, the people are great, and the prices are very reasonable. The best part is that if you have a craving for tacos al pastor, you can get those too! Ask to see the poblano menu. Another great example of the diversity of Allentown and 7th Street Allentown! Dine indie with Sweet Italian Pizza
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IndustryWeek: The Case for Investing in Manufacturing | US has not changed its percentage of investment in manufacturing R&D since the 1960s!? US has dropped to eighth in the world in this percentage. Ugh.
DOT announces $1.5 billion distributed through 51 TIGER grants nationwide. | Regretfully, no awards to Allentown. We had applied for freight rail funding and bike/ped improvements. The good news? Philadelphia/Camden got funding for bike/ped improvements, and Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia will get $98 million for freight rail.
Here's a sampling of what you'll find on the Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) page on Facebook and Twitter feed for February 9, 2010:
Walkable Allentown Thinking about walkable Allentown. Downtown residents that work downtown (I live in Old Allentown and work at 4th & Hamilton, some live in Old Fairgrounds and work at PPL, some live in West Park and work at Lehigh Valley Health Network) have nothing to fear with the pending snowstorm! We can walk to work through just about any snowfall and walk to our favorite restaurants for a beer afterward. Lots of drugstores, grocery stores and corner stores will keep us fed and we are only a few blocks away from West Park, where I hope to make a snowman tomorrow after work. Read more about walkable neighborhoods at Walkscore.
Mancino's Pizza & Pasta Fasul You're in a rush, you need food, you need a restaurant recommendation: Mancino's Pizza & Pasta Fasul! Whether you need a quick slice of pizza or you have time for a sandwich, Luigi's ability with dough will impress. Right downtown, at 707 Hamilton! Read some reviews of Mancino's
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Loan fund available for small manufacturers in Valley area | mcall.com | MRC loosens restrictions on lending. Up to $30k
As businesses look to recover from hits companies have taken, first order of business is finding capital
Here's a sampling of what you'll find on the Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) page on Facebook and Twitter feed for February 4, 2010:
Council Approves BYOB in B1/R Not long ago, 4 Aces Grill discovered that they could not allow their customers to bring wine into the restaurant to enjoy with a meal. BYOB was legal in all business-zoned areas of the city with the exception of B1/R (Limited Business/Residential). Due to the hard work of the City's Permit Specialist, legislation was presented to Allentown City Council last night that would permit BYOB in B1/R restaurants. Council passed the ordinance, allowing restaurateurs to pay a $35 permit that will allow their customers to enjoy their own drinks. Making these types of changes is the beginning of a process of rationalizing the existing zoning code in the city of Allentown to reduce obstacles to operating a business. Look for more changes that will facilitate the kind of compact, urban development that helps create walkable communities.
La Mexicana Grill One of the restaurants that will benefit from the new 
BYOB legislation is La Mexicana Grill on Seventh Street, part of the Seventh Street Main Street neighborhood. La Mexicana Grill serves some of the finest tex-mex style Mexican food that you will find in the Lehigh Valley, and acts as a good introduction to Allentown's authentic cuisine. Anyone familiar with more commercial Mexican food will recognize and enjoy many of the dishes at La Mexicana Grill, including great guacamole and amazing fajitas. Learn more at La Mexicana Grill's listing on Yelp.
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From the Keystone Edge blog Ben Franklin give nanotech $5.7M boost The grant includes $700,000 for Lehigh University's Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. This is an area in which the Lehigh Valley has a real opportunity to excel.
Here's a sampling of what you'll find on the Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) page on Facebook and Twitter feed for February 3, 2010:
American Manufacturing More thoughts from the front in American manufacturing in this Wall Street Journal Article (Radical Shifts Take Hold in U.S. Manufacturing). It seems like a lot of the pessimism about manufacturing in this country comes from very large companies. Allentown is minimally focused on these giants, preferring to direct attention to entrepreneurs and small businesses. Does most of the impact of our local "giants" (like Air Products) come from their purchasing and supply chain activity or direct investment? What is your experience?
Venture Capital Just processed the Brookings Institution report on venture capital in Great Lakes states (including Pennsylvania). The focus of the report is on the lack of VC investments in the Great Lakes region, including Western PA, but stimulates thinking about VC availability in the Lehigh Valley. Pennsylvania received less than 2.5% of all VC investments in the United States in 2009, and although no data exists to support this thought, I would suspect that the share of VC investments in the LV is disproportionately low. Originate Ventures and Mid-Atlantic Venture Fund are the two major VC firms here, but it seems like they make the bulk of their investments outside the region. Do you think that there are some great unfunded ideas floating around the Lehigh Valley? How can we improve VC networks here? Ben Franklin Tech Ventures is probably the best resource that an entrepreneur can access, but do they know to head in that direction? What are your thoughts?
Damascus I can't believe we have gone this long without 
suggesting that you try Damascus Restaurant, one of the best middle eastern meals in the Lehigh Valley. Damascus is one of those amazing places where you can totally fill up on appetizers and leave the restaurant VERY happy. The menu is incredible, but I am particular to the kibee and the EXCELLENT babaghannouj. Enjoy it!
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How to encourage small innovations (Harvard Business Review)
Cultivating entrepreneurs is the best way to create jobs in Allentown (Lehigh Valley SCORE)
Mapping innovation networks: Exploring regions (McKinsey/Purdue)
ITIF says 162,000 jobs can be created in the short term by simply expanding the R&D tax credit (ITIF: Create Jobs by Expanding the R&D Tax Credit)
Although the homes of Center City Allentown may not be as tiny as the plans you will find on the Tiny House Blog, they are a dramatic departure from the McMansions of the Lehigh Valley suburbs, and illustrate a couple of key benefits of downtown living. 
downtown living.
