The former Luden’s plant at the corner of Eighth and Walnut Streets in Reading may soon be a hub of economic activity again.
Mayor Eddie Moran hopes to entice a clothing apparel distribution center to the former candy factory.
The announcement was made Monday night during City Council’s meeting that the city’s community development department has met with the new owner of the building in the 200 block of North Eighth Street, Managing Director Abe Amoros said.
The plan calls for the CEO and CFO of The Fashion Apparel Industries to develop the former candy factory into an apparel distribution center that will create 100 to 120 new jobs, Amoros said.
“This is very exciting,” Amoros said.
The city will work with the company to obtain grants or low-interest loans for the project, Amoros added.
The factory was purchased in November by New York-based R&R Fish LLC for $2.8 million, according to Berks County property records.
The administration did not elaborate on the business, but a search of Pennsylvania State Department records revealed that Fashion Apparel Industries, Inc. filed its business documents with the commonwealth in July and is based in Philadelphia.
The company appears to be tied to Fashion Apparel Industries, Inc. based in Great Neck, N.Y. and was first incorporated in 1998, according to the New York Department of State records.
Ramin Arasheben is listed as the company’s CEO, according to records.
The announcement that a distribution center may open downtown came a week after Moran’s administration said a new hotel might be coming to the neighborhood.
During council’s committee of the whole meeting last week, things became tense when several members voiced frustration that nothing seemed to be moving forward in downtown redevelopment.
Community Development Director Jamal Abodalo told council that was not the case and that a recent study commissioned by the city called for a new hotel.
“The study you are going to read — it actually calls for a second hotel,” he said. “Well, as we have it now, there is another entity that is coming to us for a hotel. We are going to work with them. So, we are moving very fast.”
Abodalo did not give additional details on the location or operator of the hotel.
Source: Berkshire mont