Schuylkill Riverfront Academic and Heritage Center

    Senator John Rafferty presented a check for $500,000 to officials from Montgomery County Community College and the Schuylkill River Heritage Area (SRHA) on Oct. 25. The money will go toward development of a Schuylkill Riverfront Academic and Heritage Center at 140 College Drive, in a former PECO building now owned by the Pottstown Borough. A portion of the building, located across the street from the College’s West Campus, currently houses the headquarters of the Schuylkill River Heritage Area, but another 5,000-square-foot section is unutilized.

    The College has partnered with the Schuylkill River Heritage Area and the Borough of Pottstown to develop a Riverfront Academic and Heritage Center on the unutilized portion of the site.
Full Proposal
* Overview of the Center
* About the Partners
* Program Plan
* Facilities Plan
* Outdoor Plan
* Project Management Plan
* Acknowledgements
              Check Presentation
              Pictured at the check presentation are Ron Downie, President SRHA Board;
              Kurt Zwikl, Executive Director of the SRHA; Sharon Valentine-Thomas, Mayor of Pottstown;
              Dr. Karen A. Stout, President, MCCC; Senator John Rafferty; Representative Thomas Quigley;
              Dr. R. Dean Foster, Vice President and West Campus Administrative Officer, MCCC;
              Jack Wolf, President, Pottstown Borough Council; and Ray Lopez, Manager, Pottstown Borough.		 Former PECO Building

    “To our knowledge, this is the first partnership of its kind in the nation—where a community college partners with a designated national heritage area to benefit the greater community,” remarked Dr. Karen A. Stout, President, MCCC. “This will complete the transformation of this site into a hub for culture, recreation, conservation and education, as is in line with the Pottstown Borough’s revitalization plans.”

    According to the newly released proposal, the center will provide space for four college classrooms, a science lab and an Interpretive Center with educational, historic and tourist information about the Schuylkill River Heritage Area.

    Schuylkill River

    “This will become a destination point for tourists,” SRHA Executive Director Kurt Zwikl said of the Interpretive Center. “It will function much like visitors’ centers at state and national parks.”

    The Riverfront Center will also allow for joint programming between the College and the SRHA, with non-credit courses that promote awareness of the river as a historical, cultural and natural resource. Such courses will run the gamut from historical perspectives of the region, to lessons in kayaking and bicycle maintenance.

    “Our goal is to become a regional center for education about the river, which flows 128 miles through five counties,” said Stout.

    The College’s credit curriculum will be expanded in the areas of environmental science, museum studies and education. Cultural arts programming and an annual academic symposium will also be held at the new center, and an outdoor amphitheatre will support cultural events and live performances.

    The check presentation at the SRHA headquarters was attended by a number of public officials, including Rafferty, State Rep. Tom Quigley, Pottstown Borough Council President Jack Wolf, Borough Manager Ray Lopez and Mayor Sharon Valentine-Thomas.

    The $500,000 grant from the state’s Re-development Assistance Program, secured and presented by Rafferty, represents only a portion of the money needed for the project. An additional $500,000 grant from the Department of Education’s Higher Education Assistance program is also forthcoming, secured by Senator Vincent J. Fumo.

    Schuylkill River Heritage Area Executive Director Kurt Zwikl said the project is a “home run for the community and the entire region.” He pointed out that it addresses all the SRHA’s five major goals of using “conservation, education, recreation, historic preservation and tourism as tools for community revitalization and economic development.”

    Wolf agreed that the project was a boon for the Pottstown area.

    “The revitalization of the Borough of Pottstown really started when Montgomery County Community College decided to become one of our neighbors. The icing on the cake was the relocation of the SRHA headquarters to this building,” Wolf said.

    The building, which is currently owned by the Borough, will eventually be transferred to the College. It will become the third building on the West Campus, including buildings at 101 College Drive and 16 High Street.