WYOMISSING \u2014 Officials in the most populous borough of Berks County say they will take control of a hotel that has been shuttered for three years if its owner doesn\u2019t step forward.<\/p>\n
In September, the Berks County Redevelopment Authority is set to consider blighted certification for the former Crowne Plaza hotel at 1741 Paper Mill Road. With a large event space and hundreds of rooms, it was one of the main hotels in Berks County, making it a key local economic driver.<\/p>\n
Wyomissing officials said they hope the blighted designation, which clears the way for the redevelopment authority to take the property via eminent domain, will spark action by the property\u2019s owners.<\/p>\n
Borough officials sought county help to address the issue in March.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the first time Wyomissing has sought a blighted designation for a commercial property.<\/p>\n
The borough first condemned the property in February for property maintenance, fire code, and construction code violations, Wyomissing Borough Manager Michele Bare told Spotlight PA. Then, in March, she said the borough went to the county for the blighted designation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not safe for human occupancy,\u201d she said. \u201cNew ownership took it over and did nothing to maintain the mechanical systems, including the current fire suppression system.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hotel was sold in 2021 by Berkshire Inn LP to Delaware-incorporated LW Reading III LLC for $10.7 million and was rebranded as a Radisson Hotel<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the new owners have promised to make changes and file for permits to make repairs, Bare said they\u2019ve failed to follow through.<\/p>\n \u201cThey applied for permits and then failed to do any work,\u201d Bare said.<\/p>\n About a month ago, Wyomissing officials met with the property owner\u2019s architects to discuss repairs and building code requirements. Bare said they\u2019ve seen no action. She said the borough is considering filing fire code citations against the owner in court.<\/p>\n Reached by phone on July 18, a property manager for the former hotel said the owners are working with the borough on renovations. The space is owned by Lockwood Hotels<\/a>, a development group with other hotels<\/a> in Alabama, Florida, and New Jersey.<\/p>\n The former hotel now has multiple posted signs prohibiting trespassing. Many rooms have been stripped to the studs, while others have mattresses and desks scattered throughout the unit. HVAC systems can be heard running from outside, and paint buckets and other construction materials are scattered around the complex. At least one security camera hung haphazardly from its wiring, seemingly not working properly, during a weekday visit in July.<\/p>\n Each room is illuminated by lamps in front of sliding glass doors to discourage trespassers, at the request of local police, Bare said.<\/p>\n While You\u2019re Here<\/p>\n Spotlight PA\u2019s nonprofit reporting is a free public service, but it depends on your support. Give now to ensure it can continue.<\/p>\n The hotel first opened as a Sheraton Motor Inn<\/a> in the 1970s. During the turn of the century, it was renovated and changed to Sheraton Hotel Reading. In 2009, it underwent a $10 million renovation and became the Crowne Plaza. When it was purchased in 2021 and changed to a Radisson Hotel, it only operated for a few months before announcing its closure<\/a> in March 2022.<\/p>\n Bare stressed that the borough has worked tirelessly to get the former hotel back into operation since it closed. It\u2019s critical to redevelop the property for the community\u2019s benefit as well as to ensure a healthy tax base, she said. Bare said the borough has issued notices for grass and weeds for years, and often ends up hiring a landscaper and charging the cost to the owner.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have spent significant staff time and resources taking every legal action we can to be on the record about what the issues are and what needs to be fixed,\u201d Bare said. \u201cAnd there is a consequence for failing to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WYOMISSING \u2014 Officials in the most populous borough of Berks County say they will take control of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2858,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-2857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2857","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=2857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}