Machine Alley
The City of Erie had a successful launch of its Innovation District with the opening of Radius CoWorking and Velocity Net. However, the district did not have the shared spaces and amenities needed to propel the district to the next level of talent attraction and entrepreneurship. When the Pennsylvania Downtown Center brought its yearly statewide downtown conference to Erie in the Summer of 2019, the Downtown Erie Partnership, conference organizers, Erie Insurance and property owners came together to activate an underutilized mid-block connection as a pop-up public space and retailers. This not only created an amenity for the district but provided conference goers an immersive Erie experience outside of the typical conference environment. YARD & Company was engaged to conceptualize and develop the activation as well as to build it out with the community. The activation events demonstrated to property owners demand for their space as they look to rehab and reuse buildings around the space.