After being abandoned for decades, the former Glidden site at 1853 North 3rd Street in Reading took a major step towards seeing new life this week with its acquisition by BerksIDA. An Authority of Berks County, BerksIDA spent the last two years BerksIDA working with the Department of Environmental Protection, Shuman Development Group and ANOREAD, the previous owner, to develop an environmental cleanup plan that can return the site once again to productive use in the City.
At 19.4 acres, the site operated nearly continuously for over a century as a chemical and paint manufacturer. In 2007 the facility stopped production and by 2010 the 45 buildings onsite were demolished. After nearly a decade of sitting unused, ANOREAD purchased the site in 2016 to develop a cleanup strategy. In cooperation with BerksIDA and the DEP, a remediation plan for the site was approved in January 2025. In partnership with Shuman Development Group, BerksIDA will remediate the site over the next few years to Act 2 cleanup standards for commercial and industrial reuse.
The site is split by a rail easement, which will work to the redevelopment plans’ advantage. Shuman Development Group intends to develop the lower ~14 acres adjacent to the homes south of Bern Street for a retail shopping center, while the ~5.4 acres north of the tracks and adjacent to other industrial properties will be redeveloped by BerksIDA consistent with its commercial neighbors.
“Recognizing the City’s potential and the strength of strategic partnerships, BerksIDA is making this significant investment to revitalize this major site,” said Eric Jenkins, BerksIDA Board Chair.
“A project like this cannot work without everyone working together, and without major support like BerksIDA and the CRIZ to make the numbers work,” said Alan Shuman, SDG President. “BerksIDA is a great partner that sees the value in Reading.”
While BerksIDA has supported projects in the City, including environmental review of the Penn Optical site and financing of St. Joe’s Hospital and the AW Golden redevelopment, this marks its first-ever land acquisition and development within the City.
Jeremy Zaborowski, BerksIDA Executive Director, said the authority sees itself as a catalyst for redevelopment, taking on the hard-to-develop sites within the County to bring them back to productive use. “BerksIDA purposely seeks out partners on its projects to compound our work’s impact.”
The Authority is a leader in transformational development projects, tackling difficult sites within the County to restore their economic and community value. BerksIDA’s mission is to promote collaborative, long-term, quality job creation and retention in Berks County through site development, redevelopment and support, financing programs, and access to government funding. As part of the Imagine Berks plan, BerksIDA provides land development, financing, and infrastructure services on behalf of Berks County.
