Reading developer buys Wells Fargo building in downtown Reading

Prominent Reading-based developer Alan Shuman has bought another downtown landmark.

Shuman announced Tuesday afternoon that his development group finalized the purchase of 600 Penn St., which originally was built as the Meridian Bank headquarters.

“We have six months to finalize what all will be over there,” Shuman said. “All we’re sure of right now is the first floor will definitely be all retail and restaurants.”

Shuman Development Group bought the property from the Greater Berks Development Fund for $2.3 million, Shuman said.

“It’s been a great project for us for over 25 years, and we are just looking for other opportunities,” said Deb Milliman, president of Greater Berks Development Fund. “Alan certainly had a strong interest in the building and the timing was right.”

City officials were unavailable for comment.

Wells Fargo occupies the 130,000-square-foot building and will until April, when renovations to the first floor will begin to make way for retail space, Shuman said.

“The building is in magnificent condition, but it was built as a single-user building,” Shuman said. “The whole first floor needs a massive overhaul to be used for retail.”

The former Ocean Blue restaurant is pretty much turnkey, he said.

“With any luck, we will have tenants moving in to that next summer,” he said.

The rest of the space will be ready by May 2023, Shuman said.

Shuman is not quite sure what the rest of the building will become.

Changing needs

The recent Downtown Plus study the city paid for reported that the need for office space will dwindle over the next few years, a trend that has been happening for awhile and was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is a need for more residential space downtown.

“We do have plans drawn up for that and the building laid out for really nice office space,” he said. “I think we’re probably going to spend the next six months seeing how strong the office market is.”

Several other projects in the downtown area might include residential construction, including the city owned properties at Fifth and Penn Streets, Shuman said.

“If those projects do not happen, then we will more seriously look at doing the conversion over to residential,” he said.

The city purchased the mostly vacant and dilapidated buildings in 2013 for $2.6 million under then-Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer and has tried to get the properties developed ever since. Mayor Eddie Moran’s administration recently put out a request for proposals for the properties with bids due Jan. 14;

The Greater Berks Development Fund spent over $22 million to construct the building in 1996 for Meridian Bank’s headquarters.

“There was really no expense spared,” Shuman said. “It is probably the finest office space in the region.”

The building has an amazing four-story atrium when you first walk in and a lot of items from the former Pomeroy’s building that was on the site, like its cast iron columns, Shuman said.

“I love history,” he said. “If I had my choice, I would rather have the Pomeroy’s building.”

Downtown projects

The former Meridian Bank building is the latest property in Shuman’s downtown Reading portfolio.

Shuman also owns:

• Elks Lodge (former Trexler Mansion) 46 S. Fifth St.

• M&T Bank building at 50 N. Fifth St.

• Medical Arts building at 230 N. Fifth St.

• Berks County Trust building at 35 N. Fifth St.

• General Battery building at 645 Penn St.

• Abraham Lincoln Hotel at 100 N. Fifth St.

• Corbit Building at 157 N. Fifth St.

Aaron Gantz, senior director of economic development for the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance and Millman credited Alvernia University’s CollegeTowne project with renewing downtown development.

“The Alvernia project has certainly enhanced the interest in downtown Reading,” Gantz said.

University President John R. Loyack announced in 2019 his plan to open a campus in downtown Reading to house Alvernia’s business, communications and brand-new engineering programs. The campus opened with the start of the fall semester.

The discussion about passenger rail service returning to Reading has also spurred developers’ interest in the city, Millman said.

John Weidenhammer, chairman of the Berks Alliance, put forth a feasibility study to return passenger rail to Reading and Amtrak laid out its plan in September to return rail to the region.

Developers that are considering projects in the city are looking to create retail, residential and office space in the downtown, Millman said.

“The trend is certainly mixed-use where you are combining office, residential and retail in one building,” Gantz said.

There are plenty of opportunities for local and outside-the-area developers, Millman and Gantz said.

“We’re fortunate to have someone like that who is willing to take on those projects, take the risk and keep the historic nature of these buildings and get them ready for their next life,” Millman said.

“It’s great to work with someone local that has a track record of successfully redeveloping properties,” Gantz said. “And also work with people outside of the area.”