College Township IDA offers collateral to help with financing

Consider it a helping hand for businesses — and yours could be the first.

A new program by the College Township Industrial Development Authority aims to help businesses, from startups to those seeking to expand, by putting up money as collateral if they fall short of bank requirements to obtain financing.

The amount put toward the collateral will be negotiable, based on need and the authority’s assessment of the business’ viability, said Herb Graves, authority vice chairman and leader of its finance committee.

“I think we have a pretty good idea of what can grow and succeed,” he said.

The authority has $2.6 million to work with after the sale of its incubator building last year. That building, despite being full, was not paying for expenses, Graves said.

The goal isn’t to be a bank or to compete with banks. Money isn’t loaned to the individual but deposited into the bank making the loan and is held until loan obligations are met.

“We’re trying to position, not as a competitor, but as a partner with the banks,” he said.

The ultimate goal is to benefit College Township and the Centre County region by helping companies grow locally.

“We really think this is a good opportunity,” Graves said.

Local businesses can contact the authority at 237-8510.

New art gallery to open

Lisa Cocolin wants everyone to look for 116 — behind that number is her new gallery.

The Corner Room Gallery at 116 can be found 116 W. College Ave. Located on the second floor, the plan is to open Thursday at the start of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, Cocolin said.

“We’re just hoping people will find us and come up,” she said.

The gallery is filled with local talent, diverse offerings and pieces at a reasonable price, she said.

“It’s local people that love to do what they do,” she said.

Cocolin said the group of craftspeople has been traveling to shows and were considering finding a venue for a gallery when the opportunity arose.

“I’ll tell you, I’m so excited this just came together,” she said.

Among the hand-crafted pieces will be works such as fused glass, wood carvings, wrought iron pieces, wildlife paintings, jewelry and gourds.

Cocolin’s specialty is decorating gourds — complete with an arrangement done by a friend. It’s something they had been working on in another available space, just down the hall from the gallery.

She said their goal is to consider hosting community events in the space as well.

The gallery will be open Monday through Saturday, with hours still being finalized.

For more information call Cocolin at 880-0401.

Cereality’s reality is over

The days of putting Pop Rocks in your cereal are over — at least at Cereality that is.

After just under two years, the build-your-own custom cereal shop at 134 W. College Ave., State College, has closed.

The decision comes after the Cereality brand was acquired by Kahala in 2007 and closed some stores as part of a long-term business decision.

There are no plans to reopen the State College location under new ownership, a spokesperson for Kahala said.

STA Travel closed

STA Travel, a division of the world’s largest student and youth travel organization, has closed its State College location on Penn State’s University Park campus as part of a company-wide restructuring.

The company recently announced the closing of 48 of its 65 retail locations, with plans to expand its online capabilities this year. Three local employees lost their jobs.

Customers can visit the company’s Web site, www.statravel.com or call 800-781-4040 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for any travel arrangements.

Starbucks uncertainty

No word yet on whether any of our Starbucks locations are caught up in the company’s plans to close 600 stores. Of the stores targeted for closure, 70 percent have opened since fiscal 2006, the company said.

Starbucks opened a location at 141 Garner St., State College, earlier this year. A cafe opened in Patton Township in June 2005, and there are also a ones on West College Avenue and in the Barnes & Noble store off the Benner Pike.

Closures are slated to start in July and continue through next March. I’ll update you as I learn more.

http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/697798.html

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College Township IDA offers collateral to help with financing