It was an opportunity to comb the streets of downtown Lehighton to catch a firsthand glimpse of the beautification efforts at several businesses through facade improvements.

State Sen. Dave Argall, state Rep. Doyle Heffley and Lehighton Borough officials on Tuesday met at the Lehighton Borough Office, where they made the short trek down to First Street for the Lehighton Facade Grant Walking Tour.

Lehighton Borough Manager Dane Dewire led the tour, and was also joined by Lehighton Borough Council President Dave Zimmerman, Lehighton Councilman Joe Flickinger, and Lyle Augustine, a property owner who owns a building across the street from the lower park, as they looked at completed projects, along with projects that are still underway.

In April 2024, Argall and Heffley helped the borough acquire $250,000 in state funding to fund a facade grant program in the borough’s downtown.

On the tour they talked with business owners, including Andrew Paterson, who co-owns Crazy For Closeouts at 207 N. First St.

Paterson explained how the grant helped improve the facade at his business.

“The windows have all been replaced,” Paterson said. “The whole paint scheme is going to be changed.”

Heffley said that from what he witnessed, the future looks bright for downtown Lehighton.

“There’s a lot of potential and opportunity for the downtown to thrive,” Heffley said.

Argall said he too, was impressed with the work that’s been completed.

“It’s essentially breathing new life into downtown Lehighton,” Argall said.

DeWire said, “The borough was happy to lead discussions on building improvement efforts, and it was great to get some backstory from the local officials who were raised in this area.

“It meant a lot to have the elected officials walking the streets and seeing the improvements firsthand,” DeWire said. “Without them, the funding wouldn’t have been possible, and the publicity they can provide will hopefully be able to stir up another round of funding in the future.”

DeWire noted that $249,060 was earmarked in total for 14 separate projects in the borough’s commercial zoning district.

To date, he said between 70 and 80% of the funding has been distributed, with the remaining funds on standby until contractors have had an opportunity to wrap up.

“I think the biggest thing we can do to incentivize business district growth is to get feet on the ground, exactly what we did today,” DeWire said.

“Like a smile, business is contagious. What comes around will go around, and we’re trying to get people downtown and hype it up as much as possible.”

In July 2025, borough council awarded contracts to the lowest original bidders for each project.

DeWire explained at that time that of the original 16 applications received in February for facade grant funding, eight projects extended the minimum bidding threshold set by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.

Those eight projects were put out for public bid.

Last May, council unanimously agreed to award $215,105 to applicable facade grant applications.

DeWire noted at that time the borough would fund 90% of the projects that it deemed applicable up to $25,000 through the grant it received in 2024.

He said projects ranged from $7,700 to $37,000, and that three projects are eligible for the full $25,000.

The purpose of the facade program is to encourage property owners to improve the appearance of their buildings.