This month BerksIDA submitted land development entitlements for the remaining two buildings at Berks Park 183. Once entitled, we plan to install all the pad-ready improvements necessary for a new or existing local business to put up their own building on the lots, taking all the risk out of the project. The two lots will support buildings of 100K SF and 65K SF, respectively. If you or someone you know is looking for a property like this, reach out to BerksIDA today!
Development is tough. For Berks County’s developer of last resort, it’s arguably tougher. We take on the projects that the market will not touch. These are projects that may lose money for the IDA, but they create value for Berks County citizens, taxpayers, and businesses. These are projects that need doing.
Nearly fifteen years ago, BerksIDA took on one such project: Berks Park 183. Situated behind the Reading Regional Airport, the site sat property-tax free for over 75 years, with lead contamination, deteriorated infrastructure, and floodplains restricting development. To make the site productive required upgrades or installation of all infrastructure – new roads, gas, fiber, sewer expansion, power expansion, stormwater, everything. To date BerksIDA has spent nearly $17M on the site with a market value of $13M. Even so, the site still had limited power supply which was only just recently addressed through the collective efforts of First Energy, The County, BerksIDA, GBDF, and RRAA. To fill that financial gap, BerksIDA used a combination of state and federal grants, making it effectively break even for us.
One may ask why put in the effort to redevelop this site when it loses money to do so? It is a fair question, but one that has been answered through our experience. With over 500K SF constructed in the park since we started, the site which once stood nearly vacant and entirely property tax free already generates over $1M annually in property taxes – a five-year ROI on the state and federal investment in the site. It now employs hundreds of people. It has improved quality and reliability of infrastructure in the area. It has cleaned up an environmental problem for the County. BerksIDA barely broke even, but that is the job for the developer of last resort. As we finish up these two buildings and close out Berks Park 183, we look forward to focusing on the next hard-to-develop site.