HERMITAGE, Pa. - Pennsylvania Senator Michele Brooks and Representative Mark Longietti have received $1.7 million in state grants awarded under the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

This funding will go towards improvements to Thiel College, the Buhl Recreation Center and JCL Development in Sharon.

$500,000 will go to the Buhl Community Recreation Center - F.H. Buhl Club, Sharon City - for extensive building and exterior renovations to enhance space for hundreds of new members.

Another $500,000 will go to downtown Penn State Shenango's community initiative - JCL, Development, Sharon City - for residential and commercial mixed use space on the former Caine and Co. Warehouse site adjacent to the Penn State Shenango campus. 

$700,000 will go towards Thiel College Academic Center Phase 2 - Greenville Borough - for classrooms and laboratories to expand programs that include the physician assistant program, speech pathology and other in-demand professions.

According to Senator Brooks, these spaces within the community provide jobs, career development and educational, health and recreational opportunities along with vital services and programming.

"These grant funds will build on community and private investment in these areas of our hometowns. We have taken the long view to see how we can connect our communities and our residents together in the long-term for the future," Brooks said.