Plans move forward, plus big hires: Centre County business happenings from February

Proposals for two new businesses moved forward in State College, while a longtime community organization named a new leader.

Here’s a look at the month’s business news in Centre County.

New places

SpringBoard, a coworking space, opened its new location at 221 W. High St., No. 1300, Bellefonte. The space offers a private phone/video conferencing room, high-speed Wi-Fi and a full kitchen, along with views of Spring Creek. A conference room can be reserved in two-hour blocks and the entire space can be booked for special events.

SpringBoard is an economic development initiative of Downtown Bellefonte Inc. Visit bellefontespringboard.com for more information.

Coming soon

• Plans are in the works to open a gas station and convenience store at the site of the former Greg’s Sunoco, 605 University Drive, State College. An opening date was not immediately clear, as significant renovations remain.
• State College Borough Council approved a liquor license transfer for Brothers Bar & Grill, a Midwestern sports bar chain, which plans to open at the former Amazon Pickup Store, 134 S. Allen St. The company did not specify an opening date, as major renovations are planned for the site, but hopes the restaurant will open later this year.

New faces

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts named Pamela Snyder Etters as the new executive director. She was executive director of Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania in Blair County for the past two years and before that was executive director of the Altoona Symphony Orchestra. She is an artist and the head women’s soccer coach at Penn State Altoona.

“There are no words to adequately express the amount of enthusiasm with which I enter my new role as Executive Director with the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts,” she said in a release. “Rick Bryant has left me some big shoes to fill, but I am excited to work with the staff and board to uphold the strong traditions of the festival while navigating the need to adapt to modern societal preferences.”

The 2023 Arts Fest begins July 12 with Children and Youth Day.

The Meadows Psychiatric Center in Centre Hall named Rod Kornrumpf as CEO/managing director. Kornrumpf has more than 20 years of experience in the behavioral health field, including as vice president of the Behavioral Health Service Line for Luminis Health. While in that position, he oversaw a host of services including inpatient and outpatient mental health care, walk-in urgent care, substance use services and hospital-based consultation. Kornrumpf is a graduate of Slippery Rock and received a master’s in health care administration from Carnegie Mellon.

“It is an honor to join The Meadows team and continue to support the team’s commitment to the communities we serve,” Kornrumpf said in a news release. “As behavioral health becomes more and more intertwined with physical health, as it should, The Meadows is uniquely positioned to continue to serve among the most vulnerable in our area with accessible, high quality, high compassion services.”

This story was originally published February 26, 2023 at 6:00 AM.