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Phone: (610) 882-1571 |
At Taggart Associates we have a combination of unparalleled expertise that distinguishes us from the rest. We specialize in project funding, transportation management, economic development and environmental planning. With Taggart Associates furnishing turnkey project management services, we can help you accomplish your goals on time and within budget, resulting in a product of superior quality.
Taggart Associates is a Certified Disadvantaged Business Entity through the PA Unified Certification Program and the PA Department of General Services.
Find out more about our team and our unique, highly-qualified backgrounds.
Taggart Associates Biographies
Donna Taggart
Donna Taggart has been involved with economic development efforts for 25 years. She began her career as Director of Administration for the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park for 11 years before becoming Executive Vice President of the Bethlehem Economic Development Corporation (BEDCO). During this tenure, Donna was involved in multimillion dollar redevelopment projects for the City of Bethlehem, including key historic building renovations. BEDCO became part of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation in the early 1990s and Donna assumed the role of Vice President of Regional Development. Her work at LVEDC resulted in the transition of the Easton Economic Development Corporation into the Greater Easton Development Partnership (GEDP), parent of the Easton Main Street Initiative, which is recognized as the most successful Main Street programs in the State.
Donna has worked with dozens of boroughs and cities to help them improve their economic competitiveness and quality of life. Her extensive knowledge of federal and state programs has helped many communities achieve major milestones in their redevelopment efforts. During her career working in the public and not-for-profit sectors she packaged dozens of key community economic development projects, leveraging over $30 million in public financial incentives.
As a contract employee through Taggart Associates, Donna served as Program Coordinator of GEDP and the Easton Main Street Initiative. GEDP duties included administration of all loan programs, CDBG reporting and compliance and daily oversight of the Main Street Initiative. With Donna’s assistance, GEDP embarked on a multiyear, multimillion dollar fundraising campaign that included the public, private and academic sectors. A portion of these funds were used to implement a hospitality and cleaning program for the downtown area known as the Easton Ambassadors. This fundraising was the precursor to the establishment of a Business Improvement District to sustain these efforts.
In 2007, Taggart Associates partnered with a nationally known company in the area of Business Improvement Districts to form New City America East. Donna’s experience with Pennsylvania economic development programs and government, coupled with New City America’s experience with the formation of over 55 Business Improvement Districts across the U.S. gives Taggart Associates’ clients another option when seeking financing for their downtown revitalization efforts. New City America East is currently working in the Cities of Bethlehem and Easton to implement Business Improvement Districts to sustain their current improvements and programs.
The City of Easton, Lafayette College and the Delaware and Lehigh Heritage Corridor hired Taggart Associates to manage a $20 million project to redevelop areas along a portion of the Bushkill Creek. The projects include the redevelopment of a former industrial property, the creation of a City Gateway and the development of a recreation facility. Coordination of all interested parties and soliciting timely public input to the decision making process are key elements in this redevelopment effort. Taggart is currently leading the community visioning effort for the redevelopment of the 14-acre Silk Mill property into mixed use, retail, commercial and residential uses with a focus on the creation of an arts community including artist live/work space. This property contains approximately 334,000 square feet of existing building space, much of which is architecturally and historically significant.
Donna is also contracted with other local developers and municipalities to find unique funding strategies to make critical projects happen despite budget constraints.
Donna holds a B.S., Business Administration with a concentration in Finance; Minor: Economics from Cedar Crest College. She gives back to the community by serving as a Board Member of Northampton Community College’s Foundation Board and Executive Committee, ArtsQuest Board of Trustees and Executive Committee and Past Chair, VIA Board of Directors, and Past Board Member and Secretary of the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association.
Chad Helmer
As a Senior Project Manager with the firm, Chad works with public and private sector clients to manage and raise funds to support a wide range of economic development, urban revitalization, and brownfield redevelopment projects. Chad has 10 years of experience, much of it spent focused in the area of brownfield redevelopment and urban revitalization. He also has experience utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to implement various types of environmental and community planning projects.
From 2000 to mid-2004, Chad served as Director of Land Recycling with the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation where he wrote grants in support of and facilitated multiple commercial and industrial redevelopment projects throughout Lehigh and Northampton Counties. In this capacity, he wrote successful proposals for and/or administered several EPA Brownfields Assessment grants and Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Funds, maintained the GIS-based inventory of brownfields sites in the region, assisted public and private sector clients to manage projects through Pennsylvania’s Act 2 liability release program, and helped clients to leverage grants and loans to fund redevelopment projects. The assistance he provided during the 4 years he served in this role helped leverage over $20 million in state and federal brownfield redevelopment funding for the region.
Chad holds a B.S with a dual degree in Environmental Resource Management and Renewable Resource Economics; with a Minor in Economics from Pennsylvania State University. His professional training includes US Army Corps of Engineers-approved Wetland Delineator Training and Pennsylvania Economic Development Association’s (PDEA) Basic Economic Development Course. Computer skills include ArcView GIS and Microsoft Project, as well as the Microsoft Office programs.
In memoriam: Company founder Glenn Taggart
Company founder and Vice President Glenn Taggart worked in the planning sectors of transportation and economic development as well as consulting in public involvement and project management for nearly 40 years. He passed April 2, 2011.
Recognizing that his professional talents centered on project management and direction of projects to ensure that they move with efficiency and accuracy, Glenn founded Taggart Associates in 1997. The company was built on the vision of enabling counties, municipalities, and private sectors to build unique urban environments based on their distinct characteristics and goals.
Glenn's extensive experience included developing creative project financing programs for public and private sector clients and heading environmental/design studies. He managed a variety of transportation design and construction projects designed to support economic development through improved traffic flow, parking, pedestrian safety, bridge replacement and capacity improvements. For over a decade, he also directed the Transportation Capital Improvement Program for Lehigh and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania.
Glenn earned a bachelor of science in business administration from The Ohio State University, and a master of arts in geography and regional planning from Miami University (Ohio), and he holds an A.B.D. Ph.D. in regional planning from Kent State University. He often prepared papers and presentations on transportation and land use planning topics for national and state organizations.
He was a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and was affiliated with the International Economic Development Association, the American Planning Association, and the Pennsylvania Planning Association. He served his community as a member of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and City of Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board and as chair of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Grass Roots Transportation Sub-Committee.