The BCONE Pennsylvania Expansion Committee held a “Tour and Pour” event on May 26, 2022, in downtown Pottstown. The tour began at the Montgomery County Community College Sustainability and Innovation Hub. Set on a three-acre brownfield site, this former PECO generating station has been transformed into a multipurpose and multifaceted resource for the College and community.
Next the tour progressed to the "Hess Lot," a vacant former retail gasoline station parcel, located at the entrance to Pottstown along Hanover Street. This parcel has seen renewed development interest recently, but presents challenges associated with legacy environmental issues.
The tour concluded with a visit to two downtown buildings that both received US EPA Brownfield Grant funding through the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority (MCRDA). The “BB&T Building” located at the corner of High and Hanover Streets received US EPA funding as a low-interest loan to complete asbestos abatement and universal waste removal that allowed renovations to commence. The fifth floor has been completely renovated and now serves as the Pottstown office of Cedarville Engineering Group (CEG). The success of CEG has led to significant job creation in Pottstown. The “Mercury Building” located at 24 N. Hanover Street served as the offices and distribution center for the Pottstown Mercury Newspaper until 2018. This property also utilized US EPA funding through MCRDA for asbestos abatement and universal waste removal. Renovation is now underway and future plans include a boutique hotel and on-site distillery. Tour attendees all agreed that we should re-visit the Mercury Building during a future BCONE tour after the hotel and distillery are operational.
The event concluded with an evening networking session at the Sly Fox Brewery located in the Circle of Progress Industrial Park near the Pottstown municipal airport.
A special thank you to our guest speakers and sponsors who made the event a success:
Guest Speakers
- Amy Auwaerter and Mike Billetta – Montgomery County Community College
- April Barkasi and Curt Hatfield – Cedarville Engineering Group
- Peggy Lee-Clark – Pottstown Area Economic Development
- Rebecca Swanson – Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority
Event Sponsors
- Synergy Environmental – Gold Sponsor
- Tetra Tech – Gold Sponsor
- Environmental Standards, Inc. – Silver Sponsor
- ETEC – Silver Sponsor
- Lewis Environmental – Silver Sponsor
Look for more educational and networking events from the BCONE PA Expansion Committee this summer and fall.
Posted May 31, 2022
