The Tamaqua YMCA is steadily filling the empty spaces of its building, located in a shopping plaza along Route 209 east of town.

Kim Johnson, president and CEO of the YMCA of Reading and Berks County, and Tamaqua YMCA Branch Executive Director Nick Zigmant, hosted a ribbon cutting and celebration Friday to honor the YMCA's recent 5,000-square foot expansion.The expansion includes a party room, fitness room, aerobic studio and group exercise center in addition to new, state-of-the-art equipment.The YMCA spent $200,000 on the expansion and $135,000 on the new equipment.The YMCA is located in the former Jamesway store, which closed in 1995.The Tamaqua YMCA opened in 2008. There are currently about 1,900 members.