The long awaited dedication of the Mahantongo Parking Garage in Pottsville took place Friday.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Pottsville Mayor James T. Muldowney said.

The event was the second big news of the week, the first was the announcement of Alvernia University discussing its plans for the Pottsville CollegeTowne concept at the former Giant at 500 Progress Ave. Thursday.

Ian Lipton, executive director of the Pottsville Parking Authority, talked about the history of the site. He was among several speakers, including Muldowney and Richard “Dick” Yuengling.

The garage at South Second and Mahantongo streets was once the home of the former Warne Hospital.

“The original parking garage opened on Oct. 6, 1969, with 277 spaces on three levels. And that structure served the community for 47 years,” he said.

The old garage was demolished, and the last wall fell in early November 2018. The garage closed in October 2016 due to deteriorated structural reinforcing.

Lipton said the new garage has 222 spaces, two stair towers, an elevator, electric vehicle charging station, handicapped spaces, security system with 27 high resolution cameras, a video monitoring system, contactless mobile app parking, bicycle racks and other features.

John Levkulic, Pottsville Parking Authority engineer and owner of Levkulic Associates, said construction by C

PS Construction of Cheswick started Jan. 22, 2020, and finished about two weeks ago. A final occupancy permit was issued June 9.

Monthly and hourly parking are available. Monthly passes can be purchased at the Pottsville Parking Authority, 1 S. Second St., Pottsville.

A $5 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, $2.8 million donation from Yuengling and $750,00 loan from the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority made the project possible.

Yuengling said he was glad to be in a financial position to donate.

“Thank you Dick for your continued dedication to Pottsville,” Muldowney said.

Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill/Berks, said the project “had a lot of challenges,” but was worth the effort. Despite what some may think, having a parking problem has its benefits.

“If your community doesn’t have a parking problem, it has a bigger problem. It’s probably already dead,” he said.

Schuylkill County Commissioner George Halcovage Jr. commented after the program that the completion of the garage is “going to be good for the people of Pottsville” and those who visit.

Savas Logothetides, owner of the Wheel restaurant and executive director of the Pottsville Development Corp., said, “For the city of Pottsville, this is just another huge step in the right direction given the turnout you can see and the enthusiasm for the revitalization.”