READING, Pa. – GoggleWorks is celebrating new momentum in downtown Reading.
State lawmakers announced $600,000 in funding to support the next phase of the GoggleWorks art park project, a multi-phase effort to transform underused space into a cultural hub.
“This $600,000 in state funding is the largest in Berks County, and it’ll help us to transform a vacant lot here in downtown Reading into an exciting hub for art, music, and food,” said Levi Landis, executive director of GoggleWorks.
The funding helps move forward Phase Two, reimagining a lot just steps from the main GoggleWorks campus. Plans include an amphitheater, a splash pad and a mini-golf course — designed to bring people of all ages into the space.
“You’ve seen how much this area has already changed,” Landis said. “But this is just the beginning.”
GoggleWorks leaders say the art park is about more than entertainment. The vision includes free daily programming, along with ticketed events designed to attract visitors from outside the region.
“We see this as a real hub of the city where there’ll be free programming for those that what to see something almost every day…but also exciting ticketed events that will bring people in from outside the region,” Landis said.
Construction on Phase Two is expected to begin in 2027, following a year of fundraising.
Leaders say the project is part of a broader effort to reshape how people experience downtown Reading.
“Our goal is not just that Washington Street is a thoroughfare that people pass through or drive quickly to get out of the city,” Landis said. “But that they stop, they repose, maybe make something or look at a piece of art, enjoy a burger or a beer, and can stay in downtown Reading.”