Alvernia University on Thursday strengthened the ladder of success as it celebrated the opening of its Pottsville CollegeTowne.

The new campus, at 500 Progress Ave., will offers bachelor’s degree programs in 13 areas of study, including finance, accounting, criminal justice, early childhood educations, addictions and mental health treatment, health care administration, management, and nursing in 17,000 square feet of classroom, laboratory, and faculty space.

“The greatest success of CollegeTowne is not buildings or programs or redevelopment, it is that it has us all working together on all those things and more,” said Alvernia University President, John R. Loyack. “Thank you to Congressman Dan Meuser, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf, Sen. Dave Argall, state Rep. Tim Twardzik, the Schuylkill County Commissioners, Mayor (Dave) Clews, City Council, WKL Architects, Sordoni Construction, our dedicated faculty and staff, and numerous community partners that have stepped forward to help Alvernia expand its mission and enhance its students’ experience.”

On Wednesday, Schuylkill County commissioners donated $100,000 toward laboratory facilities and the nursing school in memory of the late Commissioner Frank J. Staudenmeier, who passed away in 2020 after serving four terms.

“The $100,000 contribution to Alvernia’s Pottsville CollegeTowne project will be dedicated to the laboratory facilities and the nursing school,” said Commissioners Chairman Barron L. Hetherington.

“Schuylkill County is blessed to be served by three health care networks. Support for the Alvernia nursing school will benefit our hospitals by providing top quality nursing staff and all of our area hospitals. Nursing staff support for hospitals will support greater health care opportunities for the citizens of Schuylkill County,” he said.

The 30,000-square-foot building, a vacated grocery store, was acquired for $1.4 million about a year ago by the Reading-based Catholic university.

The project was funded by $3 million from a state Redevelopment Assistance Capital grant; $2 million in federal dollars; $250,000 from Pottsville, and $100,000 from Schuylkill County.

The academic spaces feature four staff and faculty offices, 10 classrooms, a modern wet lab and a state-of-the-art computer lab featuring Bloomberg Terminals. The facility also includes an interfaith room, community conference rooms and open entry way featuring an inviting and professional lounge area for students, faculty and community guests. The remaining space in the building is being repurposed by the university through strategic regional partnerships as the institution seeks to expand and enhance its service to the community, according to the university.

Meuser, R-9th District, called the Pottsville campus a “huge step in the right direction for our community.”

“The funding that we provide will deliver more than return on investment, it will return opportunity, it will return an opportunity for the American dream, it will return great outcomes for our community and for all the students that will so greatly benefit by all the work that’s been done,” he said

The former Giant store is a 30,000-square-foot property, with 17,000 square feet will be devoted to academic use.

Argall, Twardzik and state Rep. Joe Kerwin, R-125, worked to secure a $3 million state grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to transform the formerly vacant building located at 500 Progress Avenue into a state-of-the-art college campus.