Reward increased to $85,000 in Reading fire

Wednesday afternoon at the site of the Reading Outlets Center fire on Eighth and Oley streets, the reward for the arrest and conviction of the arsonist(s) was raised to a potential $85,000.

The Keystone Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. announced that it and three other chapters in its organization have contributed $65,000 to the reward for the arrest and conviction of the arsonist(s) in the Oct. 18 blaze.

The Reading Outlets fire caused more than $12 million in damage and has put back completion of the project for another year.

Alan Shuman, owner of Shuman Development Group and the developer of the building, has been a member of the Keystone Chapter of ABC for about a year, Julina Greineder, Keystone’s director of communications, said this morning.

“I am very grateful and very happy that the community is coming together to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again, and to find who is behind it,” Shuman said this morning. “ … It [the reward from ABC] was unexpected, but very much appreciated.”

In addition to the $65,000 from ABC, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire Arms and Explosives posted a $10,000 reward and Shuman contributed $10,000.

The Keystone Chapter of ABC and its 600 members span 10 counties, including Berks and Schuylkill. The Eastern Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania and Cumberland Valley chapters of ABC also contributed to the reward.

“I know that he [Shuman] is really appreciative,” Greineder said. “ … He saw the benefit in the organization before knowing that there would be any type of incident like this, and the reward was not expected.”

ABC is a national organization based in Washington, D.C., formed in 1963, with members including general and specialty contractors, as well as other businesses that work with contractors, including suppliers, attorneys and accountants. The organization offers to its members a variety of support, including advocacy, networking and training programs.

The original plans for the 42,000 square feet of commercial space in the Reading Outlets building included a child care center, pharmacy medical group, furniture rental store and farmers’ market.

The top four floors will still become 69 market-rate apartments, and, once completed, the entire project is anticipated to bring nearly 60 construction jobs and 90 or more permanent jobs.

The building is the last of the 10 that Shuman’s group bought in the outlet district since 2006, totaling about 640,000 square feet. The group has already redeveloped, sold and leased more than two million square feet of commercial property in downtown Reading in the last 10 years.

Source: LVB.com