During a stroll through Tamaqua, Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue Patrick M. Browne and other state officials saw the borough’s Community Revitalization and Improvement Zone in action.

Children enrolled in a Head Start program. Rooms at Tamaqua’s first boutique hotel. Older adults exercising, shoppers picking up food and beverages — and a 4-story building that will serve as home for students of Pennsylvania’s first rural dental college.

“What we want to do is establish a dental college in downtown Tamaqua,” said Micah Gursky, rural health clinic administrator for St. Luke’s and executive director of the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership. “Our hope is that (students) will live here.”

The CRIZ program, which was initiated in the borough about a decade ago, allows incremental tax revenues generated by borough businesses and customers to return to the community for reinvestment.

The tour began Monday morning from the historic Tamaqua Train Station, where CRIZ funding is currently helping to replace a decades-old roof.

Browne, state Sen. David G. Argall, representatives from the state departments of Revenue and Community and Economic Development and CRIZ Authority members visited completed CRIZ projects and learned about future plans, including dormitory style housing at 24 W. Broad St. for dental college students.

“We do have fantastic plans for this,” Gursky noted. “Part of our plan is to change Tamaqua into a place where education is a priority, where we invest in education, and education is part of our economic development.”

The CRIZ assisted with funding for the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership to purchase the building — the former Scheid’s Department Store — about 10 years ago. At the time, the roof was leaking.

“It literally saved the building. Because 10 years of that leaky roof and this would have collapsed,” Gursky said. “Without the CRIZ program, we would not have been able to acquire it and prepare it for renovations.”

It’s likely that the building, which has been gutted and is ready for renovations, will also include a coffee shop and a gathering space.

The site has off-street parking, and Gursky hinted that students will likely be able to walk to classes.

“It is going to be somewhere in downtown Tamaqua for sure. We have a couple of (potential) locations” for the college, he said.

One spot would be on South Railroad Street, near the St. Luke’s Rural Health Clinic and Tamaqua Public Library.

“As we identify locations for a dental school, we want it to be in the CRIZ, we want it to be downtown and this is one of the locations,” said Gursky.

The group walked from the station to the Perla Building, which last housed the Tamaqua Salvation Army Community Center. Gursky said the Salvation Army wasn’t able to sustain the 105 W. Broad St. property after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was put on the market.

“We were able to work with the CRIZ Authority to make sure it would continue to have a useful purpose,” Gursky said.

Sheila Davison, who purchased the building with her sister, Lori Miller, headquartered their C.A.R.E.S. program for individuals with intellectual disabilities on the second floor. Clients in its day program often volunteer in the community by cleaning parks or delivering Meals on Wheels.

“We have literally give tens of thousands of volunteer hours back to our community,” said Davison, who noted that C.A.R.E.S. has grown to offer programs in 15 Pennsylvania counties.

She also noted that the Perla Building recently added a state-of-the-art gym after hearing that older adults missed the Silver Sneakers program that had been offered by the former Tamaqua YMCA. They’re hoping to attract all ages to the gym, just as the building’s gymnasium sees a varied crowd for basketball, racquetball and pickleball.

“We are thrilled to be part of the Tamaqua community,” Davison said.

Next up was the Child Development, Inc. at 255 W. Broad St. Gursky said the Head Start program grew too large for its last location on Pine Street.

“They were looking for a way to expand. We were able to help them finance the renovations at this new center,” Gursky noted.

Maryann Devlin, who oversees the Tamaqua site, said Child Development wanted to stay in Tamaqua. The “stars aligned,” she said, when the building — which had housed St. Jerome Elementary School — was put up for sale.

Now, she said, Child Development offers three Head Start programs and two Pre-K Counts programs.

“The CRIZ funding has been phenomenal for us,” Devlin said.

A few blocks away — at The Bischoff Inn — owner Maria Stabio invited guests to tour rooms. Stabio saw potential in the 320 Lafayette St. building, a 19th century furniture factory, that sat idle until recently.

“We had several tenants here that took good care of this property over the years so that when we did the boutique hotel project, it wasn’t like this building was a total disaster,” explained Dan Evans, chairman of the Tamaqua CRIZ.

The $1.1 million project was supported by CRIZ funding and fills the need for overnight lodging in the borough.

Walkers also stopped by the Boyer’s supermarket on Cedar Street, which was expanded with CRIZ funding. The larger space gives it a competitive edge and steadies its location in the borough.

While many communities are losing their grocery stores, Gursky said the expansion helped Boyer’s increase its sales -and earned it the title of “best performing” of all 11 Boyer’s locations.

The tour ended at Gimbel’s restaurant on East Broad Street, which had been The Wheel Restaurant until recently. The eatery was also assisted by CRIZ funding.

Last year, the CRIZ received a record $1.6 million in state and local funding, based on 2022 revenues. It received $1.1 million in 2022 based on 2021 revenues.

Tamaqua is one of three municipalities in Pennsylvania with a CRIZ Zone. The others are Lancaster and Bethlehem.

To date, $5,068,933 has been returned for reinvestment in Tamaqua’s CRIZ zone.

The returned funds can be used for debt service, property acquisition, new construction and other costs related to development.