Repairs to Reading’s Pagoda will soon be underway.
A safety fence to protect the work site and visitors to the area was placed around the building Thursday.
“Our predominant focus right now is on the Pagoda mechanical, electrical and plumbing,” said David W. Anspach III, city capital project manager.
Repairs needed to bring the Pagoda and its grounds up to current safety standards will cost the city an estimated $10 million.
The figure includes the $3 million estimated to upgrade the building’s mechanicals, including plumbing, electrical systems, HVAC and ventilation.
That amount will be covered as part of the $32 million remaining in American Rescue Plan Act funding City Council allocated in November for public projects.
Still unfunded is the additional $7 million needed to repair and stabilize the walls, walkways and stairs surrounding the Pagoda.
“Our focus is to get the building up and running and functional,” Anspach said, “so we can use it as not only a draw to generate funds by visitors but also as an anchor for future grant applications for funding on the wall repairs.”
To jump-start the fundraising effort, the nonprofit Foundation for the Reading Pagoda presented the city with a check for $100,000 at a City Council meeting in December.
The Pagoda has been closed to the public since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and city officials say it would be unsafe to reopen the shuttered landmark to the public without the needed repairs and upgrades.
Source: Berkshire mont
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