Volume 31 No. 12
December 2015
Northside Community Development Fund hosts annual luncheon
Jazz musician Lee Robinson plays smooth soundtrack at Children’s Museum By Justin Criado
The unofficial soundtrack of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is the hum and excited cheers of hundreds of excited kids as they run throughout the Allegheny Center attraction on a daily basis, but for the last decade jazz musician Lee Robinson has add-
Photo by Justin Criado
Highmark Health CEO and President David Holmberg (right) addresses the crowd at the Northside Community Development Fund’s annual Partnership Recognition luncheon Nov. 6 at PNC Park. By Justin Criado The Northside Community Development Fund (NSCDF) held its annual Partnership Recognition luncheon Friday, Nov. 6 at the Lexus Club in PNC Park. Highmark Health CEO and President David Holmberg served as the keynote speaker as over 200 guests attended, including numerous Northside business and community leaders, local elected officials, and small business and community development lenders. “Over the years I’ve watched the transformation of the Northside,” Holmberg said. “What a difference this is and what a different community this is.”
INSIDE
Holmberg commented on the role Allegheny General Hospital has played in creating a healthier and more productive neighborhood. “We help make sure that community is strong and healthy,” Holmberg said. “When you look at the Northside, it’s not just about Allegheny General, it’s about being a stabilizing force where jobs are created. Since 2000, the NSCDF has financed more than 200 Northside businesses and 18 strategic real estate projects, including providing acquisition funds for the redevelopment of the former ARC House site on East Ohio Street in Historic Deutschtown, and since 2006 has
-Soccer champs, Page 6 STORIES, COLUMNS, -Real Stats, Page 19 FEATURES & MORE -Education, Page 21
grown its loan capital base from $2 million to more than $14 million. “They’re very important and strategic numbers in Northside,” NSCDF executive director Mark Masterson said. “We’re hoping our money is a catalyst to make better things happen.” Since 2006, 32 percent of the fund’s business loans and investments have been to minorityowned firms and 30 percent have been to women-owned firms. Both significant increases since Masterson became executive director in late 2006. “What he’s been able to do over here hasn’t gotten enough praise,” Walt See NSCDF, Page 15
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