Tamaqua's goal to better utilize upper floors of historic downtown commercial buildings is proving to be a popular topic on an expansive level, with a related video getting national promotion.

The widespread notoriety began after a Tamaqua Area Community Partnership (TACP) video called 'Looking Up' piqued the interest of the editor of a noted national Chamber network newsletter.Tamaqua Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Linda Yulanavage recently discussed the video with Dick Hakes, editor/publisher of The Chamber Executive Network, a popular and concise advisory newsletter for Chamber managers that is distributed in the U. S. and Canada. After viewing the video on the Tamaqua Chambers website,

www.tamaqua.net, the video was included in the December issue of Hakes' publication.The 'Looking Up' video appears on the website of the Tamaqua Area Chamber of Commerce. The video was created to encourage development of the under-used second and third floors of historic downtown Tamaqua buildings located in Tamaqua's Main Street area.The video was produced by Ed Redding, VideoWorks Productions, with funding provided by the TACP. The video was part of a study that was completed on the availability of space and the possibilities for development within the Main Street area of historic downtown Tamaqua."This video and others on the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership's website (www.tacp.info) have helped people realize the kind of wonderful space that is available for development in these older downtown buildings downtown," says Yulanavage."Two world-class artists from New York City have purchased buildings in our Main Street area and created live/work spaces right here in downtown Tamaqua. As a result of the efforts for further development of our second and third floor spaces, several trips have been made to NYC in an attempt to attract more artists here. The development of downtown commercial spaces is part of what both the Chamber and the Partnership do to improve the economy of the entire Tamaqua area for everyone."Yulanavage says the concept just makes sense because it's a win-win for all parties."When these now empty spaces are developed for residential and/or commercial use, more jobs are created and quality housing needs are filled. The residential spaces create an increased customer base for existing businesses and can also increase new business development in the area. All of which improves the economy for everyone," she says.The 'Looking Up' video can be seen by clicking on the Chamber's Downtown Main Street link on

www.tamaqua.net and the Partnership's video vignettes can be found at

www.tacp.info.