
Redevelopment Assistance Grant
In late June, Collegeville Borough learned that they had been awarded a $500,000 state grant for revitalization of buildings in the 400 block of Main Street.
The grant is from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, which is part of a $10 million investment in 15 community, economic development, and revitalization projects across PA. Representative Joe Webster and Senator Katie Muth aided the Borough in obtaining the funding.
The grant, which requires matching funds, must specifically be used for projects that will help spark local economic development and create jobs.

Since 2018, Collegeville Borough and Ursinus College have been working together to create a more vibrant commercial district in the 400 block. Their original grant application was for $6 million dollars for upgrades to Borough Hall and Clamer Hall.
For Borough Hall, those renovations would provide more administrative space and also create additional meeting and co-op working spaces for residents. The grant application also addressed creating a town center for Collegeville Borough by repurposing Clamer Hall into indoor and outdoor event spaces with a restaurant and boutique hotel.
Caveats and Opportunities
Unfortunately, the funding criteria’s narrow scope means that the $500,000 cannot be used to repair sidewalks or provide stand-alone landscaping, additional parking, and the like.
Once these grants are awarded, they can be “banked” for up to 10 years while the Borough and College apply for additional grants and seek matching funds so that a larger project can be undertaken. For now, this is the path that the Borough and College have agreed upon with the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority.
PA CED Grant Update
This latest round of funding is separate from the $74,000 the borough, in partnership with Ursinus College and the Montgomery County Planning Commission, applied for in March. That grant, a local share account grant from the PA Dept. of Community and Economic Development, would cover the planning, consulting and design costs of developing a Main Street Master Plan. This plan would act as a road map in revitalizing Main Street, with particular emphasis on the 400 block.
Local Restaurants Update
At the end of May, two very popular restaurants in Upper Providence Township literally a stone’s throw from our Borough boundary closed their doors: WIBs Wings Ribs and More and Corner Café. Both had been in business for over 10 years. But the rising costs of their commercial leases, the drastic reduction of their corporate customers who are now working from home, and inflation and soaring food prices were just too much for them to continue to make a profit.

Locals who frequented these restaurants needn’t fret; Collegeville Borough has a wide variety of restaurant types to fill your dining and take out needs. Visit our Collegeville Borough Restaurant Guide for details and links.
At the same time two restaurants have recently opened in the Borough: The Spice Authentic Indian Restaurant in the Collegeville Shopping Center (map it); and El Gordo Brothers Mexican Restaurant inside The Quick Stop Food Market on Main Street (map it). Quick Stop offers the menu in a take-out only format.
Please support these new businesses along with all of our local independent restaurants!
Created in January 2018, the Borough of Collegeville Business Development Committee oversees economic development and business recruitment in the borough. It is made up of volunteers from the borough and administered by a Borough Council member.
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