Appearing in the Route 422 Business Advisor June 2024 Edition, submitted by PAED”s Executive Director, Peggy Lee-Clark.
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Spring is always a great time for Pottstown. The streets and parks come alive with a bevy of activity. The flowers are plentiful in the Downtown. The trees throughout the Borough once again green. The first weekend in May sees the return of the POW WOW, the
Pottstown Nights Car Show and, if the weather cooperates, outdoor venues like Iron Gate and The Alley are full with people.
Every subsequent spring weekend is filled with activities. Some are annual events like the Car Shows and Pottstown Farm, and some are first-time events like Pottstown Arts in the Park and Pottstown Children’s Discovery Center Cardboard Build. There are also one-time
events like ribbon cuttings for Ms. Pickles Sandwich Shop, Gazzos Steaks, Enchanted Elements Apothecary, The Collective, and a Goodwill Store. Pottstown Area Economic Development’s work is often not visible. The projects we spend the most time on are complex, and can take as much as ten years to complete. 215 South Washington Street was such a project. The former Pottstown Plating works had environmental
and financial encumbrances that took years to resolve. Once it was completed and leased to an employer, there was little
fanfare from the general public. It’s as if people have forgotten what a blight the property was on Pottstown.
At times, frustration can take over when there appears to be a lack of appreciation for the efforts required to get a project like that over the finish line. The emphasis and excitement by the general public over smaller projects can sometimes appear excessive. After all, doesn’t economic development come when old buildings are repurposed and job producing development takes place? I have come to realize that economic development is not an “either/or.” It is an “and.” It is all-encompassing. Like Spring, these events and celebrations bring hope to what is to come. Highly visible wins are like the flowers that grow in a season. They are what inspires Pottstown to keep going. At the same time, most of PAED’s projects are like the trees that take years to mature. It is work that takes persistence and patience, and both are necessary for revitalization success in the Borough of Pottstown.