“Bird’s-eye view of Reading, PA.. From Pagoda. Mt. Penn.” by Boston Public Library is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Reading, the seat of Berks county, has long been an important industrial region. While the city still relies on manufacturing (the city’s largest employer is East Penn Manufacturing), developers are making strides to redefine Reading.
Alan Shuman intends to redevelop a former hosiery mill – the Nolde & Horst Co. building. During the 1970s, the building was part of Reading’s shopping outlet scene. Now, Shuman plans to reestablish the building’s retail roots by creating a shopping center. Shuman also bought the Berks County Trust Co. building which has been vacant for six years. He plans to convert the 98,000 sf building into office and restaurant space.
Another redevelopment project has recently been completed. The former Designers Place building reopened as the VF Outlet (the first stage of a $70 million development effort known as the Knitting Mills). The VF Outlet is an iconic part of Reading’s history as it was the first clothing outlet in the US. The remaining 34 acres of the Knitting Mills project is set to be mixed-use.
Works Cited:
Wendy Solomon – LVB Staff Writer. “Iconic Reading Buildings to get $25M redo.” Lehigh Valley Business, 23 Apr. 2018, http://www.lvb.com/article/20180423/BERKS/180429987/iconic-reading–buildings-to–get-25m-redo.
Wendy Solomon – LVB Staff Writer. “VF Outlet to reopen, part of $70M redevelopment in West Reading.” Lehigh Valley Business, 30 Apr. 2018, http://www.lvb.com/article/20180430/BERKS/180439984/vf-outlet-to-reopen-part-of-70m-redevelopment-in-west-reading.