Re:Vision North East
DISTRICT STRATEGY | DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENTClient: Re:Vision
Location: North East, PA
Year: 2024 - 2025
Partners: ReD Associates, ISA Architects
Overview
North East, Pennsylvania is a small town of around 7,000 people near the shore of Lake Erie. Visitors love North East for its beautiful brick buildings, historic downtown, deep agricultural heritage, and strong community values. But there are not many of them. Tourism is struggling, as is the local economy. Like many small American towns, North East has suffered decades of brain drain, an aging population, and economic contraction. Small businesses struggle to stay open, legacy family farms are squeezed out, and young people leave.
Re:Vision is a nonprofit focused on deep place-based transformation for small towns across America – and it was founded by Stacy Frost, born and raised in North East. This is where the seeds of a new economic and social model will be sown.
Re:Vision began its work in North East with a deep question: not just what should we build, but what kind of economy and community life do we want to grow, and how do we design the buildings, programs, and governance to sustain it? The answer would require an integrated strategy that treats agriculture, hospitality, social enterprise, and urban design as parts of a single, coherent, and adaptive system.
What We Did
Field States developed the economic and urban development strategy for Re:Vision North East – a phased plan connecting regenerative agriculture at Evandale Farm, the restoration of the historic Haynes House Hotel, a community hub in a converted bank building, and a row of artist live/work studios on Bank Street. We completed schematic design for two buildings, created strategic plans for six others, developed a city-wide character plan and urban design, managed architects and other project contractors, integrated the work of community engagement partners throughout the strategy, and produced the vision book that orients the full coalition of collaborators.
What We Made
Economic and urban development strategy, schematic designs for two buildings, strategic plans for six additional buildings, district character plans and urban design framework, a vision book for the initiative, and community engagement integration.
Impact
The strategy gives Re:Vision something most small-town revitalization efforts lack: a phased, fundable roadmap where each investment strengthens the next, from an initial “Seed” phase of four anchor buildings and a working farm, through progressive phases that extend activity from the town center to the shore of Lake Erie. The vision book has become an orienting document for a growing team of designers, strategists, and community partners working to make North East a model for small-town regeneration in America.
