![\"Plans](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/REG-L-BCIDAGLIDDENSALE-1.jpg\")
Plans for a six-building shopping center on the former Glidden paint factory site moved forward with preliminary approval from the Reading Planning Commission. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\nA proposed shopping center on the former Glidden paint factory site in north Reading moved another step forward when the city planning commission granted preliminary approval for the project.<\/p>\n
The commission voted Aug. 25 to approve preliminary plans for North Reading Plaza, a roughly 12-acre development proposed along Bern Street between Centre Avenue and North Fifth Street.<\/p>\n
While the official address of the parcel is 1853 N. Third St., the commission called it a paper address, noting North Third Street stops at Bern Street and does not run through the property.<\/p>\n
The project calls for six buildings containing about 169,000 square feet of retail and other commercial space.<\/p>\n
The site is part of a larger 17.6-acre property that would be divided into two lots, with the shopping center occupying the larger parcel and the remaining 5.39 acres left for future development.<\/p>\n
City planning consultant Jerome Skrincosky said the project has undergone two technical meetings with the developer, Shuman Development Group, and that outstanding issues can be addressed as plans move toward final approval.<\/p>\n
Former Glidden Paint Factory site<\/p>\n
Plans for a six-building shopping center on the former Glidden paint factory site moved forward with preliminary approval from the Reading Planning Commission. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a major project, a lot of little things, but nothing that\u2019s an obstacle for preliminary approval,\u201d commission member William Cinfici said.<\/p>\n
Among the remaining issues cited by the commission are a traffic impact study, site access, curbs and sidewalks, stormwater management and a sanitary sewer planning module.<\/p>\n
Officials said the developer also will be required to reduce exterior lighting levels between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. under the city\u2019s dark-sky provisions.<\/p>\n
The former industrial property remains an environmental cleanup site, which prevents stormwater from being infiltrated into the ground. Project representatives said the property has undergone extensive environmental testing and remains under state review.<\/p>\n
The commission waived requirements for separate environmental, community and fiscal, and parking and loading impact reports. The environmental waiver is contingent on the city receiving state environmental and remediation reports.<\/p>\n
Commissioners also partially waived a park and recreation impact study in exchange for a recreation impact fee, with the amount to be negotiated between the city and developer.<\/p>\n
Commission Chairman Wayne J. Bealer suggested the money could benefit nearby Keffer Park rather than having the developer count pedestrian walkways through the shopping center as recreational facilities.<\/p>\n
The developer still must return to the commission for final plan approval.<\/p>\n
Among other business, the commission:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Approved final plans for Cornerstone on Sixth and Chestnut, a 46-unit, age-restricted apartment development at 201 N. Sixth St. The project would consolidate 10 parcels and provide 52 off-street parking spaces. The apartments would be restricted to residents age 62 and older.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Approved plans for a Reading Parking Authority lot at 905 Green St. Seven parcels will be consolidated to create a 32-space off-street parking facility. Some on-street parking along Green Street could eventually be removed to provide adequate sight distance.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Approved an annexation plan for Finanta Credit Union at 238-240 Penn St. The plan will consolidate property along Penn Street to provide additional space for the credit union while creating a separate parcel along Cherry Street. The credit union has been leasing the additional property and is now preparing to purchase it.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Approved plans for 338 N. Sixth St., involving the consolidation of four parcels containing an existing restaurant, bar and hotel. Approval is subject to several remaining conditions, including a public works review of the curb and sidewalk along Church Street.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A proposed shopping center on the former Glidden paint factory site in north Reading moved another step forward…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,857,182,139,28,736,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-277322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-essential-reading","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}