Collegeville’s southeastern portal — the 400 Block of Main Street — is in line for a facelift. Financing the improvements is a $500,000 grant through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). State Sen. Katie Muth announced the investment.

The grant is part of a $10 million statewide infusion. Collegeville is one of 14 other Pa. projects receiving a slice of the pie.

“The $500,000 RACP grant is great news for Collegeville Borough and for our community,” Muth said. “State investments like this into our communities are so important to economic growth, recreational opportunities, and new job growth.”

Collegeville Borough will use the RACP grant to revitalize this corridor, also known as Ridge Pike. The project also includes the relocation and renovation of Borough Hall and improving  Clamer Hall on the Ursinus Campus, transforming it into event space.

The area targeted for renovation has been looking something less than its best lately. The once-vibrant DaVinci’s Pub at 217 Main Street has been empty since March 2020, felled by COVID-19. And further east, the former Perkiomen Bridge Hotel is a fenced-off hulk of a building that was nearly washed away by Hurricane Ida.

One of the only recent signs of an area refresh is a new Royal Farms convenience store and gas station, which opened in 2019.

More on this story is in the press announcement on the website of State Sen. Katie Muth.