Business Briefs are concise stories keeping you up to date on what’s happening in Chester County. This Morning:

Oxford Awarded $575,000 in Community Revitalization Program Funds

The Borough of Oxford has been awarded a $575,000 grant from the 2015 Community Revitalization Program funds for the Wheeler Boulevard Improvements project by the Chester County Commissioners.

The project, which will take place on Wheeler Boulevard from North Third Street to Lincoln Street, consists of replacing waterlines, valves, adding fire hydrants, installing a storm water system, street paving, new sidewalks and handicap accessible ramps at the intersections.

In the past thirteen years Chester County has provided Oxford with $4,598,896 of CRP and Community Development Block Grant funds to help it address important infrastructure issues in the borough.

“Community Revitalization grants have benefited a number of Chester County urban centers over the years,” noted Terence Farrell, the Chester County Commissioners Chair. “These funds greatly improve the overall health of communities and provide for growth, as well as spur significant increases in taxable assessments.”

Mallrats Sequel to be Filmed in Exton Square Mall

Fans of Kevin Smith’s movies rejoice, because he will be shooting the continuation to his 1995 hit movie Mallrats called MallBrats at the Exton Square Mall.

The move was announced on social media platforms, confirming the location and indicating January as the likely start of shooting.

“We found our MALL, y’all!,” Smith wrote in a tweet on Thursday.

The original movie was filmed at the Granite Run Mall in Delaware County, but according to the Granite Run Mall’s parent company, BET Investments, the agreement had reached a “snag with the movie people” As a result the Exton Square Mall will get the honor.

PREIT, which currently owns the Exton Square Mall released a statement saying that the company is thrilled “at the prospect of hosting Kevin Smith, the actors, and crew, helping to bring jobs to the area, and creating social media & onsite events to celebrate the partnership.”

Nearly 150 Chester County Employees to be Let Go by QVC

Nearly 150 employees will be laid off by West Chester based QVC. The well-known retail company filed a WARN notice with the state of Pennsylvania reporting its plans to go through with the layoff of 147 workers by November.

All of the affected employees work in a small distribution center in Chester County, and as stated by the spokeswoman Dianne Zappas were all notified of the developments back in March.

“This was a very difficult decision for us,” she said. “We are very grateful to our distribution team for all the work they have done.”

QVC has moved much of the work from the Chester County distribution center which was no longer operating efficiently to Florence, S.C. However, some of the workers were given the opportunity to transfer to one of QVC’s distribution centers in Lancaster County.

High Line’s Landscape Architects Re-envision the Office Park

Courtesy of an ambitious plan from developer Liberty Property Trust and landscape architecture firm James Corner Field Operations, The Philadelphia Navy Yard 1,200-acre industrial site turned office campus, could soon become a significantly more fun place for lunch breaks.

The goal of the Navy Yard Central Green is to inject urban attributes into what’s usually thought of as a highly un-urban space. The idea is a part of a plan originally conceived by Robert A.M. Sternabout 15 years ago, when the site began its transformation from an underused industrial site to a thriving commercial hub emphasizing historic preservation, inventive new architecture and great public spaces.

“Not only has the Navy Yard moved beyond the bland office-park model by creating a formal street plan with real sidewalks, but it also is producing some of the best architecture in Philadelphia,” wrote Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron.

The Greater Philadelphia Region Last in Opportunities for Workers Without a College Degree

Only 19% of jobs in the Greater Philadelphia region provide a good wage to workers without a 4-year college education, ranking it the lowest among the 11 Pennsylvania metropolitan areas included in a report issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Job opportunities for non-college graduates have been in the decline since 2005, however, as a major proponent of unions, Jim Kenney, the Democratic nominee and frontrunner for city mayor stated he would try to create more trade jobs for workers without a college degree at the Navy Yard.”

“Our analysis is more of a snapshot” said Keith Wardrip, a community development research manager at the Philadelphia Fed, “A large body of research indicates the middle wage of jobs is going away faster and rebounding more slowly after the recession.”