With low rents, large properties and plenty of vacant, available space, Tamaqua is rife for redevelopment potential.
With low rents, large properties and plenty of vacant, available space, Tamaqua is rife for redevelopment potential.
The tiny borough in Schuylkill County is finding interest brewing among professional artists looking for live/work spaces, while light manufacturing and retail are emerging as the two industries that could spark interest from developers looking to dust off the downtown’s hidden gems.
When Tamaqua earned its designation as a pilot program for the City Revitalization and Improvement Zone in late December 2014, the tax incentive shed light on the possibilities for revamping nearly 300 properties in its downtown’s business core. Bethlehem and Lancaster, each with populations more than 50,000 are the only two municipalities in the state that offer the CRIZ, which gives significant tax incentives to developers and businesses.
“It’s a major undertaking for a small community,” said Micah Gursky, Tamaqua Borough Council president and local CRIZ coordinator. “We have been working on attracting some investment.”
Gursky hopes the CRIZ will help the borough build a hotel, attract medical jobs, develop the small businesses on Main Street, redevelop an old retail plaza and support existing businesses.
The borough chiefly is focusing on Main Street redevelopment of the downtown businesses and helping a grocery store facilitate an expansion. It would like to attract a hotel to the downtown, since there is no site in Tamaqua for guests to stay overnight, he said. The closest is about 20 miles away, he added.
With 297 parcels in the CRIZ, the borough would like to build a small parking lot for local businesses and also is focusing on adding space for medical offices.
The CRIZ could be a shot in the arm for the economically struggling borough. Route 309 is a busy corridor and Tamaqua is an underserved area of about 7,000 people, Gursky said.
The potential for business growth is significant.
“This is a good tool, it’s a powerful tool, but it still needs to have a good, viable developer and a business plan that makes money,” he said. “We are very happy we are selected as a pilot. We are using it to advance our existing development strategy.”
