Philipsburg Business Incubator gets 1st tenant

David Rosko wants to bring back Philipsburg.

“It’s not just Philipsburg; it’s a lot of little towns in Pennsylvania that need to be rejuvenated,” he said. “We’ve got to reinvent ourselves.”

Reinvention begins small. For Rosko, 65, it’s step one in Jade A Consulting, his IT advisory startup that moved into the Philipsburg Business Incubator in early September. The firm is the incubator’s first tenant.

The incubator, located at 220 N. Front St., opened in May. Dixoncom Technology Services leases the facility’s four offices at subsidized rents. The county is providing assistance to businesses that move into the incubator.

While Rosko is focusing on IT consulting, he said he is also looking to sell manufacturing materials such as abrasives.

“I’m going to do a little bit of both,” he said.

Jade A Consulting’s hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and also by appointment.

Rosko, a Philipsburg resident, sees the community as on an upswing. With his startup, he wants to help reinvigorate the town’s business scene.

“I want it to be a thriving community,” he said.

Four Hamilton Square Shopping Center tenants to open in November

Four businesses are targeting to open by early November in the Hamilton Square Shopping Center. The process to update the plaza, located at 224 W. Hamilton Ave. in State College, began about two years ago.

Construction on the 15,092-square-foot expansion began in June. The tenant list includes a hair salon, a financial services group, an educational training facility and a game-room-type facility.

Trombley Real Estate represents the property, which is owned by University Park Plaza Corp.

Frank Savino, an agent with Trombley Real Estate, said one space remains available. The group is looking to add a coffee shop or breakfast place at the location. Savino has reached out to national chains and local businesses to gauge interest.

“The one thing the plaza is missing is that bakery-bagel-type of place,” he said. “I think it’d be a hit for somebody.”

Mount Nittany Health facility planned for Bellefonte

Mount Nittany Health will open a corporate services building in Bellefonte by December, the health system recently announced. Construction is scheduled to begin in October.

No new hires for the location are expected, according to the system’s communications department, and the move will serve as a relocation of current staff throughout the system. More than 150 nonclinical employees will work at the new building.

“Our goal, however, is always to create spaces that are appealing to our patients and our staff and make sense for the future,” a Mount Nittany spokesperson said.

The location will feature more than 20,000 square feet of renovated space, including a fitness center, a town-square area and video-conferencing rooms. The departments to be housed at the new facility have not been finalized, the spokesperson said.

Fraser Centre Target, H&M to open

The Fraser Centre is getting ready to open its doors.

Retailers Target and H&M are slated to open on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The about 28,000-square-foot Target will offer a number of services, including CVS Pharmacy, Starbucks and Target Mobile and Order Pickup. A flexible-format store, the new Target features a design suited for cities and developing neighborhoods. The company added 14 flexible-format stores across the country during the past three years.

Fast-fashion retailer H&M announced deals for its first 200 shoppers on Thursday. The about 19,000-square-foot store will be the company’s 21st in the state. The U.S. is H&M’s second-largest market behind Germany.

Both retailers will be at street level of the 13-story, mixed-use Fraser Centre.

Fraser Centre’s other tenants include a 158-room Hyatt Place Hotel, a Federal Taphouse second-floor bar and restaurant and 26 residential condominium units slated for levels nine through 12. The one- to three-bedroom condominiums are set to be completed in the spring.

This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Philipsburg Business Incubator gets 1st tenant."