Reading has a new director of community development.<\/p>\n
David Barr was selected for the post by Mayor Eddie Moran, a decision confirmed by City Council in a special meeting Friday.<\/p>\n
Barr of Spring Township will be paid a yearly salary of $126,170, a figure set for the position by council at its June 23 meeting.<\/p>\n
He fills the position left vacant when Jamal Abodalo, who was appointed in 2020, resigned last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid brings decades of leadership in planning, development and major infrastructure projects at the federal level,\u201d Moran said. \u201cHe\u2019s worked around the world, but his heart is here in Reading.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Reading native, Barr spent much of his long career in public service, code enforcement and construction planning with the U.S. Department of State, serving in key roles managing construction, energy and facility planning.<\/p>\n
He received a Presidential Award for his work in energy conservation and led complex renovation and security projects across the globe, including in Iraq and Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Barr retired from the Foreign Service in 2022 and has since continued supporting diplomatic housing and construction projects as a consultant.<\/p>\n
A 1978 graduate of the former Central Catholic High School, Barr grew up in east Reading.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen cities all over the world and how they operate,\u201d he said. \u201cFor the past 30 years, I\u2019ve seen what works and what doesn\u2019t in terms of city planning, zoning and code enforcement practices.\u201d<\/p>\n
He plans on applying what he learned to his work in Reading, he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Reading](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/David-Barr.jpg\")
Reading City Council President Donna Reed congratulates David Barr on his appointment by council as director of the city’s Community Development Department. Barr of Spring Township is a Reading native who spent much of his career in planning, construction and code enforcement with the U.S. Dept. of State. (MICHELLE LYNCH – READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
\u201cWith his experience and vision, I\u2019m confident he\u2019ll help us continue building a stronger, more vibrant city,\u201d Moran said, thanking council for confirming Barr\u2019s appointment. \u201cThis is an exciting chapter for Reading.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barr\u2019s appointment comes at a pivotal time for the city, the mayor said.<\/p>\n
With new momentum from the City Revitalization and Improvement Zone, or CRIZ, program and continued downtown revitalization and investments in neighborhoods citywide, Reading is experiencing real progress, Moran said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need strong leadership to keep the momentum going,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd David brings a wealth of experience and a steady hand to guide this work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barr said he is excited to return to his roots in Reading at such an opportunity-rich time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen many attempts to revitalize the city in my lifetime, but I don\u2019t think I have seen a more favorable set of circumstances than we have now,\u201d he said, citing the city\u2019s improved financial condition, possibility of passenger rail, CRIZ and dropping crime rates.<\/p>\n
There are still challenges, he acknowledged, pledging to meet them by working with residents and other partners in Reading and Berks County, and state and federal government agencies and workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m honored to be serving my hometown in this role,\u201d Barr said. \u201cReading has so much potential, and I\u2019m looking forward to working with Mayor Moran, City Council and the community to help shape a future we can all be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Council President Donna Reed said she was please to vote yes on Barr\u2019s confirmation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so great to have someone from Reading who has achieved what he\u2019s achieved on the international stage and has a willingness to come back to his parent city,\u201d she said. \u201cI think there are great things that can be done, great things that are going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other City Council members expressed similar sentiments.<\/p>\n
Barr will officially begin July 1.<\/p>\n
He will be assisted by Patricia Vasquez, who has been promoted to the position of deputy community development director after serving 10 years in key roles within the department.<\/p>\n
Originally Published: June 30, 2025 at 7:35 AM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reading has a new director of community development. David Barr was selected for the post by Mayor Eddie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5725,"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-5724","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\/5724","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=5724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}