Seeing the Future

Yes, the economic and political leadership of Reading and the greater Berks County area has had a vision of revitalization for some time. But about the time that the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts took shape, that vision became sharply focused: The goal was to leverage its substantial existing assets in the arts, entertainment, retail, manufacturing, technology, and education to attract new businesses, employees, and residents.

“I had my eyes opened to what is possible when I lived elsewhere,” says Leslie Simone, a Reading native who had spent time in Boston, Los Angeles, and New York before coming back three years ago. “Now that I know what to look for, I see that most of it is here as well.” Simone, who helps run her family’s document management company, Stratix Systems, is one of 70 members of the Greater Reading Young Professionals Network, a group that is growing as fast as the businesses it brings together.

There are nearly 400,000 people to feed, clothe, and house in Berks County. But focus on that number, and you’d be missing the big picture: 20 million people in markets within a two-hour drive. Add more fuel to your tank and you can broaden that reach to 50 million. Affluent consumers, in places like New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. All reachable from a city in which you could pay about $10 per square foot for office space.

Manufacturing remains a key in this economy — as of the 2005 U.S. economic census, nearly 45 percent of the county’s 181,111 workers were employed by manufacturing companies, such as Baldwin Hardware, stainless steel and titanium products maker Carpenter Technology, and metals fabricator the Rose Corp. But these jobs are anything but old-line: Rose recently manufactured major steel components for Mission: Space, a ride at Walt Disney World Resorts Epcot. The jobs at places like catheterize-technology maker Arrow International require skills in science, engineering, and information technology. Luckily, the nearly 4,000 students graduated from Berks County’s five colleges annually have those skills, and most want to continue to live in the area.

Food manufacturing is another obvious fit for the Reading area: There are more than 215,000 acres of farmland here, and Kutztown is home to the touchstone of the organic-food movement, the Rodale Institute. Several nationally known businesses operate in the area, such as Giorgio Foods, Bachman Pretzels, Sweet Street Desserts, and Godiva Chocolatier, which together with local Palmer Chocolate and Hershey (headquartered just over the border in Dauphin County) makes the area heaven on earth for chocolate lovers.

Many people do come to shop for the sweets. Others just come to shop: West Reading was the birthplace of outlet shopping, and the VF Outlet Village remains a favorite of “girlfriend getaways” visitors. For outdoor types, there is the singular experience of Cabela’s, a hunting and fishing superstore opened in Hamburg, north of Reading, in 2003 that has plenty of parking space for RVs and horses (you can also kennel your hunting dogs while you shop). Now reportedly the most shopped-in store in Pennsylvania, Cabala’s is helping to highlight the quaint historic town of Hamburg and recreational areas such as nearby Blue Marsh Lake.