Colcom Loan Fund Helps Protect Key Riverfront Property
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s Colcom Revolving Fund for Local Land Trusts recently helped a community group in its efforts to create a riverfront park and future trail connection.
A river view of the Aspinwall Marina, which will be turned into a riverfront park, with the help of a loan from WPC’s Colcom Revolving Fund. Courtesy of Friends of the Riverfront.
Friends of the Riverfront, a nonprofit group that promotes recreational use of Pittsburgh’s riverfronts, purchased the Aspinwall Marina for $2.3 million last October with the help of a $500,000 bridge loan from the Conservancy’s Colcom revolving fund.
The outpouring of community support for this project began with a $50,000 award from the Fox Chapel District Association. Community members donated over $600,000 toward the marina purchase, with additional support from local foundations, Allegheny County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
However, there was still a funding gap as the property closing date drew near. A bridge loan from the Conservancy’s revolving fund allowed the purchase to take place on schedule while organizers continued to raise the remaining funds needed.
“Land conservation opportunities usually require quick action in order to make a purchase before the seller moves on to other buyers, but fundraising to conserve land takes typically 18 to 24 months,” said Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. “The Colcom Revolving Fund for Local Land Trusts allows organizations to acquire property before permanent funding is secured.”
The fund provides land trusts and other organizations throughout Western Pennsylvania with short-term access to funding for critical land conservation. Made possible through generous grants totaling $1 million from the Colcom Foundation in 2009, the loan fund also allows Conservancy staff members to provide technical assistance to participating organizations, as needed, to help ensure successful project outcomes.
The Conservancy offers flexible loan terms to approved applicants, including a limited opportunity of a 0% interest rate for the first 6 to 12 months of a loan term. For more information about the revolving fund, contact Jane Menchyk at jmenchyk@paconserve.org or 412-583-2333.