The business community in Philipsburg has experienced some rough times in recent years. But business owners and entrepreneurs in the town about 20 miles northwest of State College will soon have another resource dedicated to keeping small ventures viable.
A devastating fire in 2005 gutted two buildings and damaged several others in the downtown business district. Several years before the state decided to change the course of Route 322, taking traffic on the road away from the central part of town.
Now the Penn State Small Business Development Center is planning to open a satellite office in downtown Philipsburg, with the help of a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Like the center's main office in State College and other satellite office in Lewistown, it will provide local businesses with consulting services and help securing bank loans.
“I'm so happy that we're able to do this,” says Heather Fennessey, director of the Penn State SBDC. She notes that the growth of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation is drawing drilling-related businesses into vacant industrial buildings near Philipsburg.
She hopes the center will open within a month. Its hours haven't been determined yet, but it will be open at least four days per week.
Source: Heather Fennessey, Penn State Small Business Development Center
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen