READING, Pa. – A developer is hoping to build a shopping center, which could be the largest retail complex in Reading history, within the proposed Community Revitalization and Improvement Zone.
The former Glidden site where lead paint was once made is where the massive shopping center is being proposed. Now, a new program could help make this vision come true.
Developer Alan Shuman says the 156,000-square-foot, $45 million proposal in the 300 block of Bern Street could eventually house anywhere from 22 to 45 stores.
“We looked at this site several years ago, and with the level of contamination, the level of development it needs, we determined that the only way to feasibly redevelop the site was doing the site and developing it as a CRIZ project,” said Shuman, president of the Shuman Development Group.
The City of Reading has submitted its CRIZ application, in hopes of getting a designation from the state to help spur new growth in the city.
On Wednesday morning, the city announced it has submitted its CRIZ application to the state.
“We’re looking to bring in probably 500 to 520 jobs,” Shuman said. “Hopefully a lot of those will be walk-to-work. So we’re trying to work with the whole neighborhood to really revitalize this whole neighborhood.”
Beyond the shopping center, there’s also potential for improvement.
“We’re hoping to see the old Vince’s towing building redeveloped,” Shuman said. “Maybe the school district can redo George Field.”
“We’re hoping to see the individual houses here redeveloped, and, you know, sidewalks redone, landscaping redone, street trees redone, so that, you know, a once-every-100 year redevelopment of the whole neighborhood,” he said.
What makes this program different than a grant?
“CRIZ is a really….great funding mechanism in that it is only new revenue to the state,” Shuman said. “So there’s no tax rebate, there’s no freebie grant money going around.”
“If the businesses here don’t generate new tax revenue, there’s no benefit,” he said.
What phase is the shopping center project in?
“We’ve had the site under agreement for an extensive period of time now,” Shuman said. “We’re almost through our [Department of Environmental Protection] approvals.”
He hopes to get the green light by January.
Shuman says the project realistically could be finalized by 2028, although sooner is also a possibility.