A $1.7 million project to rehabilitate another floor of the downtown anchor building at 300 Second Ave. may not seem like much.

But it’s important to remember what shape the building, whose fourth and fifth floor house the Northern Pennsylvania Regional College, was in not too long ago.

Before the Warren County Chamber Of Business and Industry came along with a plan to renovate the building, 300 Second Ave. was such an eyesore it was really difficult to see a viable path forward.

The plan set forth by WCCBI for the next phase of the project is ambitious. Jim Decker, WCCBI president and CEO, said the project should be finished by the spring of 2025 and will include complete renovation of the third floor, replacement of the roof and a roof access hatch, heating and dehumidification system installation and repair and replacement of the decorative cornice on the east and south facades of the building as well as work to the decorative window sills on the ground floor exterior.

It’s been a long road to get to this point. Renovation of one floor is all that remains once this phase of the project is finished.

It’s amazing what time, a little elbow grease and $5.5 million can do.

As renovation of 300 Second Ave. nears completion, we hope the future uses of the second and third floors help bring some added vitality to downtown.