At a special meeting of Reading's City council, a vote to purchase a Lancaster Avenue property was passed unanimously.
The property was a former auto dealer/repair center and has apartments located on the upper floors. A reported price tag for the property is $375,000, it is owned by National Penn Bank.
The property has been on the market for quite some time and has apparently not been marketable for the bank. The city will have to pay to demolish the building on the property to make way for construction of the new fire station. Another minus in the deal is that the property will no longer be bringing in any taxes for the city.
Fire Administration had previously presented a plan to build the firehouse in the nearby Schlegel Park but that request was fought in court and the fire department lost the case. That property would have come with nearly no up front costs. Read More about that story.
Action on the property will begin after the sale is finalized. A plan for the firehouse has already been drawn up.
