Several members of the Tamaqua Senior Citizens group checked out an architect’s designs for a new Tamaqua police department and community center.

“That is so much larger than where we are meeting now,” member Jean Machamer said of the space inside the former Moose building that will eventually be used by the seniors’ group.

She was among the more than 100 people on hand Tuesday for a fundraiser for the station and center.

The event, held from The Wheel restaurant, signaled the beginning of the final $500,000 capital campaign for the $4.5 million Tamaqua Area Community Partnership project.

To date, the community campaign has raised $143,410, according to Micah Gursky, the partnership’s executive director.

“We really want to thank all of you for your support,” Gursky said to community members, and borough, county and state officials who attended.

M & T Bank sponsored the event, and presented the partnership with a $30,000 donation.

“As a grandson of a coal miner, I can tell you that the very essence, the very DNA of the communities that we have in our region, is how we come together,” said John J. Jablowski Jr., senior vice president of government banking for M & T. “This is a perfect example of when a community comes together to revitalize a historic building, takes a blighted property and turns it into something new. We take our proud past and enrich our future.”

The partnership plans to turn the long-vacant property at 133 E. Broad St. into a state-of-the art police station that will measure 4,708 square feet, or more than triple the size of the current station at borough hall.

“If you’ve been to the Tamaqua police station, it’s woefully too small,” Gursky said. “I often see our officers interviewing people - whether they’re perpetrators or suspects, or whether they’re victims of crime and making a police report - they’re interviewing them on the steps or in council chambers.”

The new facility will have separate interview rooms, including special areas for crime survivors.

“It’s really going to have a lot of enhancements,” Gursky said. “There’s really going to be a lot more space. It’s going to be a lot better.”

Tamaqua Police Chief Michael Hobbs agreed.

“This is something we definitely need. It’s a great improvement,” Hobbs said, while issuing his thanks.

A three-story addition will be added to provide space for a district magistrate office on the second floor, and community center and social hall for public and private events on the third floor.

“It will be a new home for our older adults to meet downtown again,” Gursky said.

According to Machamer, the seniors’ group has moved about a half dozen times over the last decade. It started at the Knights of Columbus building on East Broad Street, then moved to the former borough community center at the Mohn Building. From there, it went to the Masonic building in Hometown, shifted to the Tamaqua YMCA before it closed, and is now at the Coaldale Complex in Coaldale.

“The Tamaqua seniors belong in Tamaqua,” member Dolores Walck said.

The members said the new site will be close to places where older adults live, such as the Tamaqua Hi-Rise and Majestic House Apartments. They believe their membership, which is dwindling, will get a boost because of its easy-to-access location.

In addition to purchasing the former Moose building, the partnership bought and removed a number of blighted properties on Pine and Mauch Chunk streets. The cleared land will provide 50 parking spaces.

Gursky noted that former state Rep. Jerry Knowles secured a $2 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant for the project, which the John E. Morgan Foundation matched with another $2 million.

“My love for Tamaqua goes back. I was born, raised and grew up here. I was a cop so I’ve always had a special place in my heart for law enforcement as well as all emergency responders,” Knowles said.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser commended Knowles’ efforts and those of Gursky and the partnership.

“It is great watching this beautiful town become one of the nicest towns, most idyllic, quaintest towns in Pennsylvania,” Meuser said.

Gursky saved the community fundraising total for the end of his presentation.

“I’m so happy that thanks to all of you, thanks to Jerry, thanks to M & T Bank, thanks to the Morgan Foundation, that we are going to have a facility that matches the quality of our police force,” Gursky said.

The partnership still has more money to raise, he said, but plans to have the final designs completed soon and the project out to bid in the fall. Construction will likely begin in 2024.

To donate, visit: https://tacp.networkforgood.com.

The nonprofit partnership has championed a number of other projects in the borough including Hope & Coffee, the Tamaqua Arts Center and Depot Square Park.