Philipsburg: The little borough that could

by Stephanie Kalina-Metzger

The small borough of Philipsburg is making strides toward a better future, thanks to a group of volunteers whose eyes are set upon preserving the peaceful area while at the same time promoting growth.

Eric Rusnak, president of the Philipsburg Revitalization Corporation (PRC), said that people sometimes leave the area, only to miss it and return. Rusnak, who works as a lawyer, said that nostalgia brought him back. “My dad grew up here and I always loved visiting,” he said.

The nonprofit PRC has been around for quite some time. 

“It was developed in the mid- [to] late-1980s and has taken various forms over the years. In 2017-2018, it was renewed to bring attention to the quality of life and the economy of Philipsburg and to revitalize the downtown,” Rusnak said.

The PRC board is comprised of professionals with backgrounds in construction, law, education, real estate, health care, writing, law and banking. Rusnak said that the diverse board enables them to move forward with complex initiatives, all of which are designed to improve the quality of life in the area. “Right now, we’re developing a strategic plan to partner with the state, local and federal government to bring businesses into town. There are so many things we can do in the area,” he said.

One of the current goals of the PRC is to encourage people to stop in the small town, which houses 2,789, spans just short of a mile and is situated in a high traffic area. 

“It is located at the intersection of Routes 322, 350 and 53, which connects Interstate 80 with Interstate 99 in various ways, which means a tremendous amount of people pass by while traveling East to West and North to South. That’s a huge, untapped opportunity and we’d like some of them to stop in Philipsburg.”

“It is located at the intersection of Routes 322, 350 and 53, which connects Interstate 80 with Interstate 99 in various ways, which means a tremendous amount of people pass by while traveling East to West and North to South. That’s a huge, untapped opportunity and we’d like some of them to stop in Philipsburg,” Rusnak said. 

However, Rusnak does admit that the walkable area would benefit from more businesses and less blight. Toward that end, board members have used their own money to save several of the buildings in town. 

“We view the town as our home and want to take care of all of it or find somebody who will.”

“We view the town as our home and want to take care of all of it or find somebody who will,” he said, adding that one thing they’ve also done as a group is to pair up blighted property owners with those who can renovate the buildings, or make productive use of them. “We try to contact owners and ask if they want to sell and then we buy them, or seek buyers,” he added.

More recently, the group has purchased and are doing a full restoration on two blighted buildings located at 104 and 110 N. Front Street. 

“That’s our main business district and the purpose of the project is threefold: to save them from being torn down and turned into a parking lot, to reduce blight and finally to lead by example to show people that if a volunteer organization can take two buildings and rehab them, so can they,” said Rusnak.

According to Rusnak, the two buildings have upstairs apartments which are being turned into affordable housing units with money from the Pennsylvania Housing Authority. The first floor of one of the buildings will be office space for the PRC, along with a small business incubator. The other building’s first floor will house the ARTery — a community art space and coffee shop. 

“Governor Shapiro visited this summer and when elected officials start wanting to help and participate, it shows that they can trust you and like what you’re doing.”

“We have a big shortage of affordable housing in the area. Rather than Section 8, affordable housing is for people who earn a basic working wage. In Centre County this translates into $1,000 a month to rent,” Rusnak said, adding that the group is focused on taking what was a liability and turning it into an asset. “In doing so, we get the attention of not only the community, but also of high-elected officials. Governor Shapiro visited this summer and when elected officials start wanting to help and participate, it shows that they can trust you and like what you’re doing. We are also hearing good things from the community.”

Community outreach

The PRC also engages with the community by hosting events throughout the year. 

“The most popular is our annual wine walk, but we also host a 5K run at Cold Stream Park. In addition, we engage families with a community sledding day and Halloween and Christmas events and parades,” said Rusnak, adding that proceeds from the events help with the PRC budget. 

Additional PRC funds come from individual donors and from grants allotted by government organizations like the Pennsylvania Fair Housing Authority, the Centre County commissioners, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and the Philipsburg borough.

Get involved

Rusnak said that the PRC is always looking for volunteers to help run their events. “If you’re a good planner, we’d be happy to allow you to take the baton and run with it,” he said.

For those who have a little more time, Rusnak is happy to welcome new board members. “That’s more of a time commitment and we are looking for people who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get muddy,” he said.

One of the larger projects the PRC is also tackling is to clean up the Moshannon Creek, polluted from the mining practices of yesteryear. “We’re working with the current operators who have the ability to rectify the old mining practices,” he said.

It’s projects like these and more that attract people to the area. 

“People sometimes say that those who live in small towns don’t like change. I don’t think that’s true. I think that they can’t always imagine change, so part of what we want to do is to show them.”

“People sometimes say that those who live in small towns don’t like change. I don’t think that’s true. I think that they can’t always imagine change, so part of what we want to do is to show them,” said Rusnak.

To learn more about the PRC, visit their website at https://www.welovephilipsburg.org/.

Stephanie Kalina-Metzger is a Pennsylvania-based freelance writer whose work can be seen in publications across the United States.