Above: The logo for ACC is expected to change, but this is a preliminary design. (Photo courtesy CNNC).

This month, The Central Northside Neighborhood Council won a grant that will fund the start of a marketing initiative that will change the neighborhood’s name to Allegheny City Central.

The $15,000 grant was awarded to the CNNC by the Neighborhood Renaissance Fund. The fund was created by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and is funded and distributed by the Department of City Planning, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh.

“This $15,000 will get us a good start,” said CNNC Vice President Randi Marshak.

The CNNC hopes that remarketing the neighborhood as Allegheny City Central will dispel negative connotations with the name Central Northside and highlight two of the best things about the neighborhood – location and historical relevance.

The CNNC developed the branding plan in collaboration with North Star, a firm that specializes in community brands and the marketing firm Karen Bryant and Associates.

The plan calls for a new logo, slogan, website and gateway in addition to the new name.

The committee decided on the name Allegheny City Central to unify the micro neighborhoods within the Central Northside and the rebuff the imposition of the North Shore name on prime real estate in the Central Northside.

Marshak said the CNNC is planning a soft launch for the rebranding initiative, and has already sent out letters to Central Northside and Allegheny Center residents explaining the name transition along with a window decal with the new logo that residents can stick in their car windows.

CNNC members will meet with the Community Design Center this month to figure out how exactly to spend the $15,000, but Marshak expects some of the money will go towards logo designs and pole signs for Central Northside streets.

“We’ll have to decide what’s a priority, what we want to do first and what we can do with $15,000,” she said.

At the January CNNC meeting Marshak said they’ll vote on transitioning the name of the organization to the Allegheny City Central Association, or the ACCA for short.

Though Marshak said the grant will provide a good start for the project, the CNNC plans to apply for another Neighborhood Renaissance grant to fund a neighborhood entryway sign and a redesign of its website.

Even after the CNNC passed the remarketing strategy in September, Marshak said she is unsure how neighbors feel about the new name, but anticipate they’ll have a better idea moving into 2013.

“It’s a little early to tell. We’ll have a better idea in January. We’ll see how many of the stickers go up.”

The rebranding project was one of 12 projects funded throughout the city. Also funded was the redesign of Citizens Park in Troy Hill and a gateway project in East Deutschtown.

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