A former furniture factory in Tamaqua that sat vacant and blighted for years will soon host guests for overnight stays.

Renovations to the 1870 Conrad Bischoff Planing Mill and Furniture Factory are underway, and owner Maria Stabio plans to open the Bischoff Inn late next month.

“I fell in love with this building and this project,” she said during a tour of the 320 Lafayette St. site Tuesday afternoon.

Stabio shared her vision for the $1.1 million boutique hotel project, which is being supported by funding from Tamaqua’s Community Revitalization and Improvement Zone (CRIZ) program. The initiative keeps state tax dollars in the borough to support economic development.

“In the earliest discussions of the CRIZ, we asked, ‘What does Tamaqua need?’ and ‘What does Tamaqua want?’” said state Sen. David G. Argall. “One of the things that we heard from all employers is that they need overnight accommodations. So from the very beginning of these meetings, this was a goal.”

The hotel will feature five rooms, a communal lounge with an entertainment center, kitchenette and a coffee bar. Each of the rooms will have a private bathroom and a queen bed.

Stabio took care to preserve the building’s industrial characteristics, such as its brick walls, original wood windows and well-worn wooden floors.

The largest room - a junior suite - will have furniture made by Bischoff.

“It’s re-purposing and reviving - it’s revitalization,” said state Rep.-elect Jamie Barton. “We talk about bringing things to Tamaqua, bringing things to our community and certainly revitalization is part of it.”

Stabio said that the furniture factory was built by the Bischoff family, who immigrated from Bavaria in the mid-1800s.

“Eventually they sort of transitioned away from furniture making to casket making exclusively - and into the funeral home business,” she said.

The operators of the Zizelmann-Gulla Funeral Home in Tamaqua are descendants of the Bischoffs - and Eric Zizelmann is restoring a bed frame, vanity and dry sink that will be placed in a second floor junior suite.

“We really see this as a continuation of that history and I think it’s important to tell that story because this is not a building that just came out of thin air,” Stabio said. “It’s not a new building. It has a lot of heritage and history.”

An innkeeper will live in another suite, she said.

The inn will feature a mix of antiques, mid-century furniture and original artwork and prints from Stabio’s collection.

Argall doesn’t believe the project would have happened without CRIZ incentives - and Stabio’s dedication.

“We are very happy that she was willing to take this on,” Argall said.

A native of San Francisco, California, Stabio moved to the area in 2016 and renovated the former Grier City Schoolhouse in Rush Township. While working on the project, she met Dan Evans, chairman of the Tamaqua CRIZ.

“He introduced me to the CRIZ program and told me about the area,” she said.

He also mentioned Tamaqua’s need for need for short-term lodging.

Evans showed Stabio some available buildings in the CRIZ boundaries, including the rectory for the former St. Jerome Church.

But Evans said Stabio wasn’t interested.

Once she spotted the Bischoff building, she was determined to develop it. After several years of discussions, renovations began in May.

“It is just really exciting and I can’t wait to see it open and have people stay here and see this building brought back to life again,” Stabio said.