City Council has authorized an application for $1.2 million in state funding to revitalize two key downtown corridors.
The grants would come through the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s Main Street Matters program.
If approved, the funding would support facade improvements to buildings in the 400 and 500 blocks of Penn Street, business improvement micro-loans and grants to business owners in the 100 and 200 blocks of North Fifth Street, investment to encourage second-story residential development in the city’s main corridors, and a planning grant to review the city Main Street Design Committee’s existing plan.
Finance Director Jamar Kelly said the package represents an investment of city resources and a request for state support.
“They’ve been waiting for us to submit an application, and we have a big package ready to send to them,” he told council during its committee of the whole meeting.
Reading is seeking grants for business improvements in the 100 and 200 blocks of North Fifth Street as part of the Main Street Matters program. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The Main Street Matters program is designed to help municipalities strengthen their downtown cores and surrounding neighborhoods by providing funding for planning, business support, aesthetic improvements and safety enhancements, Kelly wrote in a memo to council.
Business improvement and façade grants require a dollar-for-dollar match from the city, planning grants require a 25% match and district improvement grants require a 50% match.
Councilwoman Vanessa Campos expressed enthusiasm for the initiative and asked about the frequency of grant opportunities.
Kelly said funding typically becomes available on an annual basis, though amounts can vary with state budgets. He credited Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration with significantly increasing program funding last year.
Campos also requested clarification on the planning grant component.
Reading is seeking grants for facade improvements in the 400 and 500 blocks of Penn Street as part of the Main Street Matters program. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Kelly said the funding would be used to examine options for how the city could structure a new Main Street entity following the closure of the Downtown Improvement District, or DID, at the end of 2020.
Models, he noted, could include a public-private partnership, a nonprofit community development corporation or other structures that could replace the role DID once played in supporting downtown services and revitalization.
Council President Donna Reed asked if the city would pursue creating such an entity in the near future.
Kelly said considerable thought is being given to possible structures and noted that any effort would require council’s involvement and approval.
Restarting a DID likely would not be possible under current rules, he said, but alternatives such as a Business Improvement District, or BID; or Special Service District, SSD, could be considered.
The city of Reading is seeking grants for facade improvements in the 400 and 500 blocks of Penn Street as part of the Main Street Matters program. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Reed noted that nearby West Reading’s Main Street program operates under a BID model that provides a dedicated revenue stream from businesses within the district.
Kelly said Reading could explore similar approaches or look to partnerships with private institutions to help establish a new organization.
Councilman O. Christopher Miller asked whether future phases of the program could be extended beyond the initial targeted blocks.
The current proposal represents a starting point, Kelly said, noting expansion could follow in later efforts.
The planning grant would allow the city to carefully evaluate which model could best serve Reading’s needs, review processes required to establish it and position the city for more consistent annual funding through Main Street designation, he said.