READING, Pa. – Alvernia University has selected Schrader Group Studio and Heim Construction to handle the architecture and design of the rehabilitation of the American House in downtown Reading.
“Alvernia University has great plans for the American House and we’re really excited to work with our community partners on bringing this historic property to life,” said Thomas Minick with Alvernia University.
The university bought the 45,000-square-foot former hotel on Penn Street in 2022 as part of the second phase of a project to help bring downtown Reading back to life. Additionally, the project includes a partnership with the John Paul II Center for Special Learning.
“The John Paul II Center for Special Learning will be opening up a cafe, really in the space that we’re standing in today, where their high school students will open a cafe that will benefit the patients at Berks Community Health but also the South Penn community,” Minick said.
The American House expansion, with plans to incorporate a diverse set of elements within it to aid the community, serves as the latest addition to Alvernia’s CollegeTowne plans.
“We thought it would take us a decade to build out the Post Center across the street. We’ve all but filled that building in five short years, and we had aspirations for more and more was the American House,” Minick added.