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‘Pottsville is coming back’ – Business Leaders Hopeful about Downtown Revival

POTTSVILLE, Pa. — City leaders in Pottsville have a lot of plans to revive the downtown. People get to know what those plans are on Wednesday night. If yo...

POTTSVILLE, Pa. -- City leaders in Pottsville have a lot of plans to revive the downtown. People get to know what those plans are on Wednesday night.

If you talk to most people on the streets of Pottsville, they’ll probably tell you the city is growing but it does need some help.

So, what’s the key to making your business work here?

Mildred Kennedy of Momma Millie’s Bakery will tell you.

“Keep working. You've got to work hard. Keep your nose to the grindstone. Don't worry about what anyone else is doing, build your business,” Kennedy said.

She’s been serving up sweet treats right in the heart of downtown Pottsville for seven years.

The city’s ideas to revive downtown is just the icing on the cake.

“Shops are opening, more restaurants. There's more things to do. The malls are dead. Alright, we went that gambit,” Kennedy said.

Part of the plan to bring in new life to downtown Pottsville actually comes from the demolition of the nearby Schuylkill Mall here in Frackville. A new version of the mall's Pearl Theater is planned to be built on the top of a parking garage on Mahantongo Street. That parking garage would also be fixed, making it easier for people to get around.

“Sometimes you can't find a place to park. A lot of people can't parallel park and they just keep on going,” Kennedy said.

Consultants delivered their final plan to revive Pottsville at the Majestic Theater at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, including putting a movie theater downtown and possibly another hotel or two.

The crowd also heard about grant money to fix up facades of downtown buildings and efforts to draw more tourists to Pottsville.

City officials also want to develop more downtown events or festivals.

"I have a property downtown, and I'm really looking forward to it. It needs more traffic. I think there is huge, huge potential here," said Laurie Quinn of Pottsville.

"They just zeroed in on the things that had to be done, and they're pushing forward, and they're going to get it done, and we're going to help them," said George Stralkus of Pottsville.

“Pottsville is coming back. A lot of them little towns are but its determination and there are a lot of people that want to see it happen,” Kennedy said.

However, she knows if those plans aren’t made with love, they probably won’t work.

“That's business. If if's not your passion it's not going to happen,” Kennedy said.

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