Discover the ideal site for your business toward sustainable and expansive growth. The Greater Reading Chamber Alliance is dedicated to helping you do just that. If you’re looking to locate or expand a business in the Greater Reading area, or to find the right property for your needs, we are here to help and can serve as your primary point of contact.
Our passionate and highly experienced economic development professionals are ready to help you with any relocation
and site selection process, from finding a property to a new grand opening and everything in between, including:
- Facilitated process and information gathering
- Planned tours of our community and properties
- Access to workforce development resources and programs
- Access to funding and incentive packages
- Mapping and customized workforce analysis
- Wage and salary information
- Regional data and demographics
- A comprehensive database of available commercial and industrial properties
- Introductions to service providers, business leaders and human resource professionals
Sites & Buildings
Demand for commercial and industrial real estate in Greater Reading continues to grow and evolve with a large and diverse selection of available spaces to suit your needs. Beyond assisting you with site guidance and available sites for your business, we are ready to offer comprehensive information on county infrastructure, financing, other nearby markets, labor force, taxes, incentives and more.
Incentives
With an array of potential available incentives and zones for your business, our community provides you with distinct competitive advantages that truly set it apart, and we can work with you to make sure you have access to the resources you need to be successful.
Partnering with GRCA opens the door to customized financing and incentive options. To get started today, contact us!
Potential Incentives:
- LERTA - Local Economic Revitalization Tax Abatement - reviewed & approved at the County and Local levels on a project-by-project basis
- Job Creation Tax Credit
- On-the-Job Training (OJT)
- PA Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy
- Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit
- Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania (WEDnetPA)
- Berks County Joint Economic Approval Process (JEAP)
Zones
Opportunity Funds are investment vehicles developed as a corporation or partnership toward investing in Opportunity
Zones. Opportunity Funds can self-certify and must invest at least 90% of their capital in qualifying Opportunity Zone
investments. The Federal Opportunity Zone in Berks County covers a majority of downtown Reading and West Reading.
A Keystone Enterprise Zone designation addresses deteriorated, distressed, and blighted industrial and manufacturing areas. The designation and subsequent Five-Year Strategy should improve standards of living through revitalization, attraction of new business and creating job opportunities. Such provides the added benefit of priority consideration under several Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) programs, including the Keystone Communities program.
An initiative of the PA Department of Community and Economic Development, the Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) Tax Credit enables companies to grow. The KIZ Tax Credits are used to offset certain tax liabilities and to accelerate the growth of KIZ companies.
The tax credit provides up to $100,000 annually to eligible companies with a total pool of up to $15 million in tax credits available to KIZ companies annually.
Berks County is one of 11 Central-Pennsylvania Counties located in Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) 147. The fundamental benefit offered by the FTZ program to U.S.-based companies is the ability to defer, reduce or even eliminate Customs duties on products admitted to the zone. For the U.S.-based companies involved in international trade, the FTZ program provides a means of improving their competitive position in relation to their counterparts abroad. Learn more about FTZ 147 at FTZ147.com.
The Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program was enacted into law as part of the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997. The program falls under the auspices of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The program encourages economic development in historically underutilized business zones – “HUBZones” – through the establishment of preferences.
Financing
To help your business grow, we can connect you with financial resources. Our team has over 50 years of combined government lending experience and a dedication to excellent customer service. From loans to grants to tax credits and training dollars, GRCA is fully equipped to get you connected to the right resources to turn your vision into action.
Learn more
Are you ready to take the next step and learn more about Greater Reading, PA? Contact us for more information.
